Law of Moses

The Law of Moses (Hebrew Torah Moshe) is the complete body of Mosaic legislation found in the Pentateuch, referred to in Scripture simply as "the Law" (Deut. 1:5; Ezra 3:2; Neh. 8:1). It encompassed three interlocking dimensions: the moral law (the Decalogue and its elaborations), the ceremonial law governing worship and sacrifice, and the civil law regulating the social life of Israel as a theocratic nation. Jesus declared that he came not to abolish but to fulfill the Law (Matt. 5:17). Paul explains that through union with Christ, believers are "not under law but under grace" (Rom. 6:14) — the ceremonial and civil laws having found their fulfillment in Christ — while the moral law endures as the rule of life written on the heart by the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:3; Heb. 8:10).