God’s Laws and Principles

Although almost everyone thinks they understand this subject (and there are many contradictory opinions), it is surprising to see how few have made the effort to research what the Bible says, and to think the matter through thoroughly. So, what we will do here is examine what the Bible tells us about God’s laws and principles, starting from the beginning, and on through each era of the history of both men and God’s messengers (angels), to see whether Biblical principles do in fact supersede God’s Laws as some claim.

Before God Created Humans

Although the Bible tells us very little about the period before God created humans, there are enough indicators available for us to draw some critical conclusions. It appears to be true than in the very beginning, after God created His heavenly sons, He had given them no laws. He was simply their Father and He showed them the things that He wanted them to accomplish.

We draw this conclusion from the fact that until the Slanderer rebelled and lied to Adam and Eve, there was no mention of a law to condemn him or other heavenly messengers to death. In fact, the first mention of a penalty for his (the Slanderer’s) disobedience is found at Genesis 3:15, where the curse on the snake (and the one behind its words) was cryptically foretold to be a ‘watching for its head.’

So, if there were originally no laws from God, why hadn’t He created them? He obviously realized that His sons could choose to rebel, because He deliberately created them each with the ability to choose for themselves whatever they wished to do. But for the heavenly sons, both right and wrong and the results of displeasing God must have been obvious. So, God didn’t have to create the possibility of a negative relationship by telling them what would happen should they choose to disobey Him.

Then, why did the Slanderer feel that he could openly defy God? Because, as the results proved (where as Revelation 12:4 says, ‘a third of the stars of heaven’ were dragged to the earth), he knew that he had raised an issue that all living creation in heaven and on earth was watching.

The First Law

The first law that we read of in the Bible is the simple one that was given to Adam and Eve in the Paradise of Pleasure, when God told them not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and bad. And in this first instance, a penalty was spelled out: Death to the offender.

What a witness this simple rule must have provided to all of God’s heavenly creation. It showed for the first time what God’s sentence would be for those who chose to rebel against Him. And as such, it became a primary goal for the one who was likely the first universal rebel, to have this rule broken. So, he set out to challenge God by lying to the first humans; and he raised the question for all living creatures of whether God has the right to expect their obedience and love.

It’s interesting that God’s law to Adam and Eve was so simple. Once again, no negative thoughts of the possibility of murder, theft, rape, or any of the hundreds of other human vices were mentioned. There was just the one command, ‘This is mine, don’t touch it.’

The First Murder

When we think of the worst crime that is possible for us to commit, we usually think of murder. And as might be expected, the second sin mentioned in the Bible was when Cain murdered his brother, Abel. Here, it is interesting to note that God’s penalty on Cain wasn’t death, but the curse of having to live a hard life.

The fact is; there was no law until then that forbade murder. There was just the good example set by God’s love, and what we call ‘conscience’ or good sense, to tell all intelligent living creatures what was right and wrong. Yet, as the Bible tells us, murder and other human vices continued to increase to the point that, as it says, ‘God saw all the badness that men were doing on the earth was increasing, and that the entire motivation of their hearts was always twisted toward evil.’

So, except for the righteous man Noah and his family, He destroyed all of humanity and much of the animal kingdom.

God’s Laws After the Downpour

After Noah and his family left the chest (ark), God gave him some basic guidelines as to what would happen to those who did extremely bad things. You can’t really call them laws, because He didn’t tell men what not to do, He simply told them what results to expect if they were guilty of wrong conduct. These guidelines are often associated with the Sacred Agreement of the Rainbow. However, notice that they preceded that Agreement, which was simply a one-sided promise by God.

Here’s what God said at Genesis 9:3-6, ‘All living and slithering animals can serve as meat for you. I have given them all to you as though they were green vegetation. But you must not eat flesh with its blood of life. Otherwise, I will require your blood at the hand of all the wild animals. I will also require a man’s life at the hand of his human brothers. Whoever spills the blood of men will also have their blood spilled, because I made man in the image of God.’

So, there were just two evil actions that He said would provide bad results. They were:

1.   The blood of animals was not to be eaten (it was to be poured out as some sort of a sacrifice to God), otherwise the violator would be liable to be killed by wild animals

2.   Every man who murdered another was liable to be killed by fellow humans.

Since these instructions were given to the common forefather of all post-downpour humans, they are obviously still valid, regardless of traditions, modern ideas, and so-called ‘politically-correct’ thinking.

And while the ban on murder is quite well understood, the reason for the warning against eating animal blood is particularly interesting. We want to remember that in God’s instructions to Adam in the Paradise, and to Noah following the downpour, the responsibility that was given to men was to ‘Rule over the fish of the seas, the winged creatures of the skies, all the herding animals of the ground, all the slithering animals that crawl on the ground, and the whole earth.’

Notice that no mention was made in the beginning of men being allowed to kill and eat the animals that were entrusted to their care. However, likely due to what had become common practice prior to the downpour, God made allowances for men to eat animals, as long as they poured the blood (which is described as the psyche or life) on the ground.

So, what conclusions may we reach from all the above? The evidence shows that; contrary to common human thinking, Jehovah was never a God of laws and rules; rather, these things were forced on Him by the inventiveness and badness of human imagination.

The Examples of the Patriarchs

One of the most interesting stories to outline what human life and its goodness was like before there were any laws from God on such matters, is the story of the actions and thinking of Jacob’s son, Joseph. You likely remember what happened as he served as a slave in the house of an Egyptian named Potiphar.

Potiphar’s wife was attracted to Joseph and she tried to seduce him. Yet, Joseph resisted and ran away. His thinking? He said, ‘Why, my master doesn’t even know what I do around this house and he has put me in charge of everything . . . So, how could I do such a bad thing and actually sin against God?’ (Genesis 39:7-9).

Now in this case, God apparently hadn’t given a law forbidding illicit sex or adultery. However, Joseph used his good sense of propriety in understanding that having sex with another man’s wife (especially his master’s) was wrong. So, no law was required for a righteous man to make the right decision.

The same was true of the righteous man Job. Again, before God provided any laws, Job repeatedly spoke of things that he knew would be displeasing to God.

The Law to Moses

However, because men really didn’t understand all of God’s righteous ways, He did provide an extensive list of laws to govern His nation Israel, after He delivered them from bondage in Egypt. And the beginnings of these laws (all of which are related from Exodus through Deuteronomy) are what we call the Ten Commandments, which God Himself wrote first on stone tablets at Mt. Sinai.

But what did this Law accomplish? Well, Paul explained it when he wrote (at Romans 3:19, 20): ‘Now, we know that everything the Law says was meant for those who were under the Law… it stopped every mouth and made the whole world deserve God’s punishment. So, no flesh will be called righteous before Him by obeying the Law, since the Law is just the understanding of sin.’

Then he wrote (at Romans 4:27, 28): ‘So, where is our reason to brag? It’s gone! Does it come from our doing the things of the Law? No, it comes through the Law of Faith, because we believe that a man is called righteous due to his faith, so he doesn’t have to follow the Law.’

And at Romans 5:20, 21: ‘Now, the Law came along so there would be many errors. And where there are many errors, even more kindness can be shown. So; As sin has ruled and brought death, [God’s] caring will rule in righteousness and bring life in the age through Jesus the Anointed One, our Lord.’

Yet, despite all that Paul wrote, many religious people today still think that they will be declared righteous by following the Old Law and its Ten Commandments, which they believe was given to all of mankind, not just to Israel… but it wasn’t. The Ten Commandments were the first portions of God’s requirements for His chosen people Israel if they wanted to receive His promise of becoming a blest nation of kings and priests. And as Paul pointed out in his numerous letters, this Law was impossible for imperfect humans to keep… however, the principles of Gods thinking are all there as a guide (not a Law) to living a righteous life.

And later on, during what we know as the ‘Christian Era’ (as both Jesus and Paul pointed out), God indicated that He didn’t really want to give His servants laws… all He really wanted was for them to love Him and to love each other. For as Paul wrote at Romans 13:10: ‘Love doesn’t do bad things to one’s neighbor, so love is the Law’s fulfillment.’

Were the Old Laws Harsh?

Whenever people wish to degrade the Bible, they point to the old laws and their penalties, claiming them to be the product of a harsh and unloving God. Yet, if you understand the purpose of these laws, you’ll see that they weren’t really harsh or oppressive, because nobody was really required to follow them, other than those who freely chose to live in the land of Israel.

It was God’s land and He gave it to the people who wanted to be part of His Sacred Agreement. And all who wished to live in this sacred land (Israelites and gentiles alike), since they claimed to be His people, were required to follow the rules and laws that He set down for them. Then, to show that they were part of this sacred relationship, He said that all males had to have the sign of circumcision on their flesh, and He told them how to dress, groom themselves, and how to act.

Realize that the land had been set aside not just for Israel, but also for all who wished to serve God. And any who didn’t want to be part of this relationship were free to go wherever they wished and dress and act as they wished… the story of the prodigal son well illustrates this.

So, why were such apparently minor infractions as breaking the Sabbath or entering God’s Temple in an unclean condition punishable by death? Not because God considered such things major sins, but because anyone who deliberately chose to disobey Him and yet live in His sacred land had to be dealt with in a deliberate way to maintain the cleanliness and sacred purpose of that land.

The Period of the Judges

Probably no period in time better illustrates God’s purposes and ways than the period of the judges in Israel. For, although the people had God’s Law, there was no government, as we know it, or civil administration in the land. All they had was judges who were appointed by God to decide legal matters, and to take the lead in war, when necessary. There were no politicians to make laws and no policemen to enforce them; the people were just trusted to know right from wrong. It was the Israelites who demanded a human king, along with all its taxes, legislators, local laws, and the foibles of human rule.

Laws and Rules Aren’t God’s Way

As we can see from all the above, although God was responsible for the first law (not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and bad), the making of laws aren’t His way. In fact, that’s why Jesus so strongly condemned the Pharisees; because in their quest for self righteousness, they looked at the principles of what God considered to be good and bad, and turned these principles into laws for ‘righteous’ people to follow.

However, as any person’s good sense and conscience would tell them, there are in fact things that people who love God just shouldn’t do. Paul outlined them at 1 Corinthians 6:9,10, ‘Don’t make any mistakes about this: Sexually immoral people, idol worshipers, adulterers, gays, men who have sex with men, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, insulters, and extortionists, won’t inherit God’s Kingdom.’

Peter, James, and John added to these instructions when laying out the guidelines for Gentile converts to Christianity at Acts 21:25, where we read, ‘As for the gentile believers, we’ve already sent them our decision to stay free from things that are sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.’

Note that this mention of blood and strangulation (where the blood isn’t poured out) reminds us that God’s instructions to Noah were still viewed as important by early Christians… as were the other instructions against immorality and worship of idols.

Principles

Principles are the basis for God’s laws… they are the reasons behind His laws. And if you were to read the entire Law of Moses, you would have a much better understanding of God thoughts on many matters. They are the guidelines we can refer to in order to make wise decisions.

However, it has often been said that principles are more important than laws, because God’s laws for mankind have changed, depending on the circumstances, while His principles remain the same. And though this is true, we must understand that obedience to God’s laws is far more important than obedience to the principles. For, whereas principles are general guidelines, His laws are the dividing lines, and He has used His inspired servants to write them down in the Bible so we would know the difference. Remember that laws are greater, because they are also principles, but principles that God felt strongly enough about to turn them into laws.

Now, in the past, whenever someone felt that he or she could take Bible principles and turn them into laws for others to follow, the Bible plainly shows that God considers this a serious sin. The Pharisees, for example, were guilty of turning principles into laws, and Jesus condemned them for doing it. And as you read the Gospels, you’ll notice the many ways they did this in regard to matters of tithing, washing, the Sabbath, the way they dressed, etc.

What’s wrong with turning principles into laws? Well, the Pharisees made up rules that went well beyond the letter of the Law to make themselves look a bit more righteous to the common people. Yet, despite the fact that Jesus recognized the righteous principles behind their rules, he still condemned them as hypocrites. He didn’t say ‘Well, they had good motives’ (as some have done today), because they didn’t, and it was their self-righteousness that condemned them… as it condemns all who think they can add to God’s laws.

Yet, through the years, super-righteous religious leaders have continued to follow the lead of the Pharisees in creating their own laws of right and wrong, based on Bible principles (which is obviously displeasing to God). We see such rules being made in regard to recreation, the way we dress, the things we eat and drink, in matters of bathing and washing, unhealthy habits (such as smoking), in relations between husband and wife, and in innumerable other matters. And yes, while good sense and manners should be everyone’s desire and suggestions may be given, making religious rules about such things goes ‘beyond the things that are written’ (1 Corinthians 4:6).

Recognize that God’s principles are all laid out in the Old Law. And if we turn these principles back into laws again, we are putting ourselves under the Old Sacred Agreement, which Paul showed time and again to be something that is unnecessary and wrong, for we are all under the New Sacred Agreement, which is based on love, not laws!

And if there are those who still wish to argue that they have the right to set out Bible principles as laws, consider the fact that God spoke of eating creatures that live in the water which don’t have fins or scales (such as catfish, shrimp, oysters, lobster, scallops, crabs, etc.) as something disgusting (at Leviticus 11:10). So, the principle is there. Now, how important do they consider that principle? Why, the only other things mentioned in the Old Law as being disgusting are homosexual behavior, adultery, and incest (see Leviticus 18:22-30).

Are God’s Laws the Final Word?

So, are God’s laws the final word on the matter? No, for many stories in the Bible show us how righteousness and good sense outweigh even God’s rules and laws. Take for example, God’s instructions to the Israelites to destroy all the people in the Promised Land. Yet, when the spies entered Jericho, they vowed to spare the lives of a prostitute named RaHab and her entire family, because of her trust in God’s power.

Then later on, the Israelites unwitting made a peace agreement with the people of the city of Gibeon, because they were fooled into doing it. Yet, the Israelites honored that agreement and let those people live, because they had sworn to do so… and this breaking of His Law was blessed by God.

As you can see, Laws never come before righteousness. Rather, righteousness is the purpose and basis of God’s laws.

So, His instructions could be summed up as, ‘Don’t do anything that is openly bad. Use your consciences, and when in doubt, do whatever shows that you love God, your fellow humans, and that you even respect the value of the lives of the animals that you were created to rule over.’