Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness: Who is Israel?

The Law Is No More

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2012-02-21

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver examines Lamentations 2:9, where Jeremiah declares 'the law is no more,' and reconciles this statement with the abiding validity of God's law. He explains that Jeremiah's words can be understood literally (the original tablets were destroyed or taken), practically (temple worship ceased), prophetically (the priests and prophets who taught the law were corrupt and removed), and judicially (God removed the restraining influence of the law as judgment). The sermon emphasizes that God's law remains in effect, as taught by Christ and the apostles, and that the greatest judgment is the removal of God's Word from a people.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bible's day to the book of Lamentations chapter 2. I've got a lot to cover. Lamentations chapter 2, and we're going to be reading the first nine verses. I told you last week the title of the message is The Law Is No More. And I think you're going to be kind of surprised as I show you this from the scripture and yet show you how the law is still in existence as well. But notice the book of Lamentations chapter two, beginning there with verse one, right after the book of Jeremiah and right before the book of Ezekiel, you have the book of Lamentations. Lamentations chapter two. Let's begin reading with verse one.

[John Weaver] How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger and cast out from heaven and to the earth, the beauty of Israel and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger. The Lord hath swallowed up all the inhabitants of Jacob, and hath not pitted. He hath thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah. He hath brought them down to the ground. He hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof. He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn, or the power of Israel. He hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoured round about him. He hath bent his bow like an enemy. He stood with his right hand as an adversary and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion. He poured out his fury like fire. The Lord was an enemy. He had swallowed up Israel. He had swallowed up all of her palaces.

[John Weaver] He had destroyed his strongholds and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. And he had violently taken away his tabernacle as if it were a garden. He had destroyed his places of the assembly. The Lord hath caused the solemn feast and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised the indignation of his anger, the king and the priest. The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces. They have made a noise in the house of the Lord and in the day of solemn feast. The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. He hath stretched out a line. He hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying. Therefore, he made the rampart and the wall to lament. They languished together.

[John Weaver] Her gates are sunk into the ground. He destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the Gentiles. The law is no more. Her prophets also find no vision from the Lord." What an absolutely amazing statement that Jeremiah has made when he said the law is no more. How in the world could Jeremiah say such a thing? How could such a statement possibly be true?

[John Weaver] I'm sure everyone in this room knows that for many years, I've preached concerning the abiding validity of the law, and I have endeavored to teach and to demonstrate that God's law has not changed, and it is applicable to each of us today. So the question has to be asked, in light of verse 9, was I wrong? And the answer is absolutely no. A thousand times no. We know, based upon the word of God, that the law of God has not been abrogated, nullified, set aside, or destroyed. How do we know that? Well, we know it several ways. First of all, in Matthew chapter 5, our Lord is setting forth the true teaching of His law in contrast to the false teaching of the Pharisees. And he says this in Matthew 5, verses 17 through 20. Listen to what our Lord said. Think not that I am come to destroy the law of the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

[John Weaver] For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. And then he said this. Whosoever there shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Now I want to call your attention to the fact that our Lord said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law till all be fulfilled." Now, I want you to remember that a jot or jod or yod is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.

[John Weaver] It's kind of like our comma, just like that. I just made one. You didn't see it. You weren't watching. Number one. Number two, it's too small. It's just a little mark. Just like our comma. Not even quite the size of our comma. but it's the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. So our Lord said it's impossible for the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet to pass from the law till all be fulfilled.

[John Weaver] Well, what about the tittle? Well, the tittle in the Hebrew is not a letter, but it is a small distinguishing mark between two Hebrew letters. It's just like if I wrote the word little, L-I-T-T-L-E. And let's say I made my I a little short and a little fat and I made my L's a little tall and a little fat. How do you know which is the I? Oh, that's no problem.

[John Weaver] I'll go back and put a dot over it. How do you know which is the T? That's no problem. I'll go back and put a little bar across them. Now you know it's L-I-T-T-L-E. Now the dot and the little bar across the T are not letters. They're just small distinguishing marks between two letters. So our Lord said it's easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, in the law, and the little smallest distinguishing mark between two letters to pass away. It's easier for heaven and earth to pass away than the very smallest, most minute letter or distinguishing mark. Obviously, the law did not end in Lamentations 2 in verse 9. So how could Jeremiah say the law is no more? We certainly know that the law was and still is in full effect in Romans chapter 7 and verse 12 when the Apostle Paul said, wherefore the law is holy and the commandment holy, just and good. We also know that the law was not replaced by the gospel.

[John Weaver] The Law and the Gospel are not enemies. They are not enmity at each other. They are not contrary to each other. Rather, they complement each other. That is, they complete each other. I want you to hold Lamentations 2, but look very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 3. I want you to notice what the Apostle Paul says. And I might point out that the Apostle Paul is probably the greatest teacher in the New Testament.

[John Weaver] on the doctrine of justification by faith alone. So he's talking about the gospel. He's talking about justification by faith alone. So Romans 3 verse 27, look what the Apostle Paul writes. Romans 3 verse 27, Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. Now look what he says, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law?

[John Weaver] Is He the God of the Jews or Judahites only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. Watch, seeing it is one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law. Obviously, the gospel of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of justification by faith are not contrary to the law of God. If you truly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if you truly preach justification by faith, then the Apostle Paul says that you establish the law. So any so-called gospel preaching then that negates, nullifies, denigrates, or destroys the law is not the gospel of Jesus Christ, nor is it true teaching own justification by faith alone, for real gospel truth establishes the law. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said concerning the law in Galatians 3 and verse 24? He said, wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.

[John Weaver] The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. Well, what does a schoolmaster do? He teaches. Well, how does the law of God teach us? How is it our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ? Well, there are a number of things that the law does indeed teach. First of all, it teaches us that we are sinners.

[John Weaver] Secondly, it teaches us that we cannot keep the law the way the law demands, a personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience. Thirdly, it teaches us that we cannot save ourselves.

[John Weaver] Fourthly, it teaches us that there is a vast chasm between a holy God and sinners. And fifthly, it teaches us that if we ever get to that infinitely holy God, across that vast chasm, it must be through the merits of another. And that would be the Lord Jesus Christ. We're pointedly told in Romans 3 in verse 20, Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. You have to understand that God's law was never given for justification. God's law was never given as a means of salvation.

[John Weaver] You say, well, what about those people in the Old Testament? They were saved by faith, looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, just like we're saved by faith, looking back to the finished work of the Messiah. They were never saved by law. They were never saved by their works. Just like we're never saved by law, and we're never saved by our works. So those in the Old Testament were saved by faith exactly the way we are. They did not depend upon their works. They did not depend upon their keeping the law.

[John Weaver] If you would look in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 3, you'll understand that this is what the Apostle Paul is talking about. Look in Philippians chapter 3. In fact, Let's begin reading there with verse 4, just so you can see what the Apostle Paul had in his flesh. He said this, Philippians 3 verse 4, Though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. Well, what could Paul trust in in the flesh?

[John Weaver] He said, Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee, watch, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is the law, blameless." Now, Paul was not perfect. Paul was not sinless. But Paul was saying, according to the pharisaical teaching, boy, he had it. Yes. But look what he said in verse 7.

[John Weaver] But what things were gained to me, yea, I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ and be found in Him, here it is, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." So the Apostle Paul then is saying, I'm not counting on anything that I ever did, I'm counting solely upon the righteousness and the obedience of Jesus Christ. And you've got to remember that that righteousness and that obedience is imputed to us by faith.

[John Weaver] In 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21, let me just quote it. The Bible says, for God, that is God the Father, hath made Him, that is God the Son, for God the Father hath made Him, God the Son, to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. So as Christians, we do not trust in our own works. We do not trust in our own law-keeping. We do not trust in our own obedience. The only one that we trust in is Jesus Christ, for He is the only one who has ever kept the law of God personally, perfectly, and perpetually. He is the one that has worked out a perfect righteousness, and it's given to us by faith. How is the law connected with the New Testament? Do you remember we have the Old Testament? We have the New Testament. I hope you remember that the word testament literally means covenant. You have the Old Covenant, you have the New Covenant. Look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 8, very quickly, Hebrews chapter 8, and notice if you would verse 10, Hebrews 8 in verse 10, If I had time, I could take you to 2 Corinthians 3, but this will be sufficient.

[John Weaver] Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 10. Look what God says. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws in their mind and write them in their hearts and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people. Now in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, The Apostle Paul shows the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Old Covenant, the law of God was written in a table of stone. Now the law of God is written in our hearts and in our minds. If you look in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 16, God says it again, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their hearts and in their minds, and will I write them.

[John Weaver] and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." So we know that God's law is still in effect, not only because of the teaching of Christ, but the teaching of the Apostle Paul, the teaching of all the other apostles. Moreover, we know that according to Hebrews 8 and 10, the law is now written in our hearts and our minds. So in light of that, you have to ask this question. How could Jeremiah truthfully and accurately say the law is no more?

[John Weaver] How do we explain that? How do we interpret it? How do we understand it? Well, I want you to go back to the book of Lamentations, if you would. And there are several things I want to bring to your attention before we really begin to examine Lamentations. The first thing is this. You have to remember that every verse of scripture must be taken in its context. Most preaching today is when you take a verse out of context and use it as a pretext to teach about anything you want to teach. So, you have to consider the verse in its context. There is always an immediate context and there is always a remote context.

[John Weaver] Secondly, you cannot take one passage of the Bible and make it contradict another plain passage of the Bible. You must interpret a passage within the analogy of faith, that is, within the scope of the whole teaching of Scripture. So if you see a verse here and you say, ah, this means that, and then what you have just said it meant contradicts other plain passages of the Bible, the Bible's not wrong, you are. So you cannot take one passage and make it contradict another plain passage. Now, what I want us to do is look at Lamentations chapter 2, and especially verse 9, and see if we can understand what Jeremiah meant when he said the law is no more. and see if we can explain this statement in light of the immediate context, in light of the remote context, and the overall scope of scripture. In order to do that, you must have an understanding of the overall picture by observing the purpose of the book of Lamentations.

[John Weaver] As a result of Judah's continued unrepentant idolatry, God allowed the Babylonians to besiege plunder, burn, and destroy Jerusalem and Solomon's temple that had been standing for 400 years. The temple was burned to the ground. Most of Jerusalem was burned. The wall was broken down. And the prophet Jeremiah, who is known as the weeping prophet, was an eyewitness to all of this happening. That's why he wrote the book of Lamentations. It is a lament over what happened to Judah and Jerusalem. So let me put it like this, Lamentations describes the funeral of a city. It's a tear-stained portrait of a once proud Jerusalem which is now reduced to rubble by the invading Babylonian hordes. So you have five chapters in the book of Lamentations. Actually they are five poems a five poem dirge which not only exposes the emotions of Jeremiah but also tells us exactly what happens in the death of Jerusalem and Jerusalem is laying waste and barren. Now let me very quickly tell you about the five chapters. First of all chapter number one deals with this destruction of Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] It is a lamentation by Jeremiah over the destruction of Jerusalem. This city has been left desolate because of her sins, and her enemies have mocked her downfall. When you get to chapter 2, or the second poem, you have the anger of Jehovah. You see that Jerusalem's desolation has been brought about by the destruction of Jerusalem because of the righteous anger of God. God is using the Babylonians as His instrument to punish and to destroy the city. Chapter 3, or the third poem, is a prayer for mercy. We don't have time to read all of these, but obviously, the first 18 verses of chapter 3 deals with the miseries and the despair of the people of Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] And then the latter portion, he begins to reflect upon the faithfulness and the goodness of God. That's where we read in verse 22 and 23, it is the Lord's mercies that were not consumed because his compassions, they fail not. They're new every morning. Great is our faithfulness. Then when you get to chapter four, it is the siege of Jerusalem again. And once again, Jeremiah is describing the suffering and the starvation of the people, the causes of the siege, the sins of the people, the prophets and the preachers, or the priests. And then in chapter 5, you have a prayer for remembrance. Because there, Jeremiah prays and cries out to God, and he tells us about the degradation of Jerusalem, He tells us that strangers have taken their inheritance.

[John Weaver] Their houses are occupied by others. They're having to buy their own drinking water and their own firewood and how the young and the old are mercilessly destroyed. So you can just see from a brief overview of the book of Lamentations that our text occurs in chapter 2 and in verse 9 And chapter 2 then deals with the righteous anger of God. So how in the world do we explain this statement when he says the law is no more? I want to give you a number of ways that that statement could be understood and each of these ways would be a biblical interpretation and a biblical explanation. So if you look at verse 9, Jeremiah writes, her gates are sunk into the ground. He, God, hath destroyed and broken her bars.

[John Weaver] Her king and her princes are among the Gentiles, that is, they've been captured. The law is no more. Her prophets also find no vision from the Lord. Let me begin by telling you first, Jeremiah's statement could be understood literally. in light of the destruction of the city and especially in light of the destruction of the temple. Do you remember where the original copy of the law was kept?

[John Weaver] Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 31. We'll look at several passages very quickly. Deuteronomy 31. And look if you would please at verse 9. Deuteronomy 31 and verse 9. Deuteronomy 31 verse 9. And Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, which bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto all the elders of Israel. Now, where did they place that law? Within the Ark.

[John Weaver] Skip down, if you would, to verses 25 and 26. Same chapter. Then Moses commanded the Levites, which bear the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this Book of the Law, and put it in the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be therefore a witness against you. So the Ark, then, contained the original copy of the Law.

[John Weaver] When the temple was destroyed, all of the vessels were carried away into Babylon. In fact, if you would turn over in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 20, turn right on over, 2 Kings chapter 20, you remember how those princes of Babylon had come to Hezekiah, and Hezekiah had showed them everything in his kingdom. And I want you to notice what the prophet Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 2 Kings chapter 20, beginning there with verse 15, Isaiah is speaking to Hezekiah, and he says this, and he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in thine house have they seen. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days come that all that is in thine house And that which thy fathers have laid up in store into this day shall be carried into Babylon. Nothing shall be left, saith the Lord, and of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

[John Weaver] Notice if you would, everything is to be taken away. And Nebuchadnezzar basically did that. He took everything. Notice, if you would, in 2 Kings chapter 24 and verse 13. 2 Kings 24 verse 13. This is what Nebuchadnezzar has done. And he carried out fenced all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.

[John Weaver] What does the Bible say? He carried out all the treasures of the house of the Lord. Anything that was any valuable, that had any value to it, he took it away. Look, if you would, in 2 Kings 25 and verse 13. To show you how thorough he was, and the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord and the bases, and the brazen seed that was in the house of the Lord, Did the Chaldees break in pieces and carry the brass of them to Babylon? So everything was carried into Babylon.

[John Weaver] You don't have to turn there, but let me just quote this one. In 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 7, here's what the Bible says. Nebuchadnezzar also carried the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon. So everything that was in the temple, Nebuchadnezzar took. So when he said, when Jeremiah said the law is no more, he could have been speaking literally. Because the law then, which was written in tables of stone, could have been destroyed, either broken by fire or taken into Babylon. So he could have been speaking literally. Secondly, Jeremiah's statement could also be considered practically. When Jeremiah said the law is no more, we could understand that with a practical application. It should be obvious if the temple was destroyed, there would be no more sacrifices, no more ceremonies, no more rituals, no more worship that was demanded by the law. How could there be? Everything was destroyed. So practically speaking, it was all over. It was done for. There was no way that the demands of the ceremonial law could any longer be met.

[John Weaver] You've got to remember that God demanded if anyone was going to worship Him, in the Old Testament, they had to come to the tabernacle prior to the temple. And secondly, once that tabernacle was done away with, the temple was standing there, they had to bring their offering to the temple. For instance, let's look in our Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 17. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. Leviticus chapter 17. Let's look at the first five verses.

[John Weaver] Just showing you how practically speaking, what Jeremiah said, the law is no more, could be very, very correct. Notice the book of Leviticus chapter 17 beginning in verse 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the Aaron and to his sons and all the children of Israel, and say to them, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or a lamb, or a goat in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, and bringeth it not? unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord.

[John Weaver] Blood shall be imputed unto that man, he has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. To the end, that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priests, and offer them for peace offerings unto the Lord. Notice what God said, it has to be brought here.

[John Weaver] Look in Leviticus 17 and verse 9. He says, talking about the man who doesn't do that, and bringing it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation to offer it to the Lord, even that man shall be cut off from among his people. One other passage, turn right over to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 12. Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 12, and look if you would please at verse 27. Deuteronomy 12, verse 27. God says, And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt eat flesh. Where were they to offer everything? It was to be at the tabernacle and later at the temple.

[John Weaver] So when Jeremiah said the law is no more, he could have been speaking literally in the fact that the original tablets were destroyed or taken into captivity. He could be speaking practically because they could no longer worship. They could no longer sacrifice. They could no longer do anything that the law demanded. So he could be saying, practically speaking, it's over with. Thirdly, Jeremiah could also be speaking prophetically when he said the law is no more.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question. When Jerusalem fell, where were the priests and the prophets? What happened to them? You see, the two main offices are represented by priests and prophets. The Levitical priests have the duties and the obligations of doing what you and I would call the ordinary preaching and teaching of the Word of God or the Law of God. The prophets have the extraordinary office of revealing and preaching divine revelation as it was given to them before the Word of God was completed. Okay? Now, my question is this. Where were the priests? Where were the prophets? They each had duties. You have to remember that most of the priests and most of the prophets were killed or either taken into captivity because of their rebellion against God. Let's take the priests first.

[John Weaver] In Malachi 2 verses 7 through 9, let me just read this and I do want you to turn to the book of Ezekiel, okay? Go ahead and find Ezekiel. But listen to Malachi 2 as you turn there. God says, for the priest's lips should keep knowledge, And they should seek the law at his mouth, for he, that is the priest, is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But now listen to what God says to the priest. But you have despised My word, you have departed out of My way, you have caused many to stumble at the law, you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people. What? Yeah, the priest. did not keep God's law. They did not teach God's law. The priest should have been teaching God's law, but they refused to do so.

[John Weaver] Now, in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 22, look at verse 26. Look what God says. Her priests have violated my law and have profaned mine holy things They have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." What did God say? Her priests have violated my laws. I want you to turn back to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 2 and look at verse 8. In fact, we'll look at several passages in Jeremiah. But look in Jeremiah 2 and verse 8, just showing you what God is now saying concerning the priests. This is one way that you may understand the law is no more.

[John Weaver] Not only literally, not only practically, but also prophetically. Because in Jeremiah 2 and verse 8, look at it. The priest saith not, where is the Lord? And they that handle the law knew me not. The pastors also transgressed against me and the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that do not profit. So we know the priests were corrupt. That's what God says. Well, what about the prophets? Well, the prophets were equally corrupt as well. Let me just point out several verses in the book of Jeremiah, and there are a number of verses that I could use that I did not. But look in Jeremiah 4. and verse 9. Jeremiah 4 and verse 9. Here are the prophets who were supposed to be declaring the revelation of God to the people. Jeremiah 4 verse 9, It shall come to pass that that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes, and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. Now, look in Jeremiah 5 and verse 13.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah 5 verse 13, And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them, thus shall it be done unto them. The prophets are nothing but blowhards. Why? The word of God is not in them. Skip down to verse 31, Jeremiah 5, same verse, same chapter, watch. God says the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means. And my people love to have it so, what will you do in the end thereof?" The prophets prophesied falsely. Turn right over to Jeremiah 14.

[John Weaver] Look if you would please at verses 14 and 15. Then the Lord said unto me, prophesy lies in my name, I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spoken to them. They prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, a thing of naught, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not. Yet they say, sore and famine shall not be in this land, by sore and famine shall those prophets be consumed. Turn right over to Jeremiah 23, if you would, and look at verses 14 and 15. Jeremiah 23, verse 14. Look what God says. I've seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing. They commit adultery and walk in lies.

[John Weaver] They strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness. They are all of them unto me as Sodom and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore, thus said the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of Gol, for from the prophets of Jerusalem profaneness is gone forth into all the land. Skip down, if you would, to verse 26. God says, How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart. If you need any more convincing of the corruption and depravity of the prophets, I would encourage you just to read Jeremiah 26.

[John Weaver] And you can find out how they substituted their word for God's word. They lied to the people. They taught their own visions and their own dreams. They refused to teach the word of the Lord. And so, When Jeremiah writes in Lamentations 2 and verse 9, the law is no more, he could have been speaking literally, he could have been speaking practically, he could have been speaking prophetically for those who were to teach the law and preach the law were either dead or gone into captivity because they had forsaken God.

[John Weaver] Fourthly, Jeremiah's statement, the law is no more, may also be understood judicially. To be honest with you, I think this one interpretation has a great deal going on. I believe all the others are correct. But if you'll look in Jeremiah 2 and verse 9, I'm going to explain judicially to you, we understand a judicial judgment. But in Lamentation 2 in verse 9, God says concerning Jerusalem, her gates are sunk into the ground, he destroyed and broken her bars, her king and her princes are among the Gentiles, the law is no more. Watch it, her prophets also find no vision from the Lord. Are you listening? Here's what happened. God refused to speak to them, because they refuse to hear God.

[John Weaver] And what God does, He basically withdraws His hand, and He withdraws Himself exactly the way He did during the book of Hosea. He said in the book of Hosea, they went to seek the Lord, but they found Him not. He had withdrawn Himself. Do you have any idea what happens when God's restraining hand is taken off a people or from a nation? I want you to hold Lamentations 2, but I want you to look to 1 Timothy chapter 1 and let me show you one of the main uses of God's law. Look in 1 Timothy 1, and notice if you would please verse 8. I want you to get ready because I hope you're going to see where we are in this nation, okay? 1 Timothy 1, verse 8, the Apostle Paul writes, we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully, by the way. There is a lawful use of the law, and there is an unlawful use of the law. An unlawful use of the law is when someone tries to use it for justification or salvation.

[John Weaver] It was never meant for that. But now watch. He says, We know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully. Now watch verse 9. Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, if

[John Weaver] there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. Now, without me taking time to do it, if I wanted to, I could show you how verses 9 and 10 compass all ten of the commandments. But I want you to know, he said, the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient. What does he mean by that? You know, I have no problem with the law as long as I'm obedient. But when I become disobedient and rebellious, then the penalty of that violated and broken law falls. One of the uses, one of the proper uses of the law is that it restrains.

[John Weaver] Have you ever wondered what keeps a lot of people from breaking into a house and just stealing everything there? Well, the law on one hand, because they realize if God's law was followed, they would really be a whole lot worse off. having stolen and gotten caught than they were before they stole because they'd have to make restitution. Moreover, according to God's law, a man has the absolute right to defend his person and his property and somebody that breaks into the house when there's an armed homeowner there is going to definitely be restrained.

[John Weaver] You see what I'm saying? One of the uses of the law is that it restrains What happened in Judah and Jerusalem is this. Judah and Jerusalem had burst the bonds of the law. They had thrown off the restraining power of the law. They were at the point where they could care less what God said. They could care less what man said. They were going to do exactly what they were going to do.

[John Weaver] They refused to be restrained. They refused to be disciplined. They refused to be chastened. You remember I read this passage last week from Isaiah 1 and verse 5, where God asked, why would you be stricken anymore? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint. In other words, you're not going to listen no matter what I do to you.

[John Weaver] So, what does it mean then when I say, when Jeremiah said the law is no more, he could have been speaking judicially. It meant that there was no more restraining influence of God's law. The people were flaunting it, throwing it to the wind, doing what they pleased, and now God had withdrawn himself, and the only thing left for them is absolute judgment and destruction.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel. Turn right over from Lamentations to Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 5, and I want us to begin reading with verse 5 and read through verse 9. I want to show you this. This is what I'm talking about, how Jeremiah could say, judicially speaking, the law is no more. Ezekiel 5 verse 5, Thus saith the Lord God, This is Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her, And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her. Lord, she was more vile than the heathen. For they have refused My judgments and My statutes, they have not walked in them. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, because you multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in My statutes, neither have kept My judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, behold, I, even I am against thee, and I will execute judgments in the midst of thee, in the sight of the nations, and I will do it in thee. that which I have not done, whereunto I will not do any more the like because of all thine abominations." What did God say? You've perverted everything. You refuse to listen. So therefore, said God, I will wipe you out.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn back To the book of Jeremiah, and just hold it, Jeremiah 18 is where we're going to end up. But I do want you to go back to 2 Chronicles chapter 15. 2 Chronicles 15, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles. We're going to go to 2 Chronicles chapter 15, and then we're going to go to Jeremiah 18. So, watch this. 2 Chronicles chapter 15. If you would like a clear picture of what it is like in a country, in a nation, in a society where the people have thrown off God's law and its restraining power, I want you to look in 2 Chronicles 15 and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch what happens.

[John Weaver] And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you be with him. And if you seek him, he will be found of you. But if you forsake him, that is, if you refuse his law, he will forsake you. That is, he will withdraw himself.

[John Weaver] You won't listen to him. He won't listen to you. Now watch. Verse three.

[John Weaver] Now for a long season, Israel hath been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law. Now wait. How could they have been without a true God? How could they have been without law? Well, they were without the true God because they were not listening to God's law. You must remember a king rules by his law. And as long as the priest was not teaching God's law, they were basically without God.

[John Weaver] They were a godless country, even though they were a covenant people. They were a godless nation, even though they were a covenant nation. Now watch. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel and sought him, he was found of them. And in those times, verse 5 refers to verse 3. In those times when they were without the true God, without the teaching priests, without the law, in those times, there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in. The great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries, and nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city, for God did vex them with all adversity.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question. Just looking at our country, What about those who travel? How about those who go out, those who come in? What about great vexations, not only physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually? What about nation being destroyed? How many wars are we involved in? City against city. Look at the cities that are about to declare bankruptcy. Birmingham, Alabama. Great vexations. For God did vex them. Why?

[John Weaver] Because they had forsaken Him and His law. Now go to Jeremiah 18 and look at verse 18. I want to show you the arrogance, the hypocrisy, and the wickedness of the people in Jeremiah's day. This is the people that God destroyed. Jeremiah 18 and verse 18. Look at this. Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priests, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words." Now listen to this. They said, now come on, let us devise devices against Jeremiah.

[John Weaver] By the way, they also planned to kill him. For the law, they said, shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. The law shall not perish, they said, but what they were about to do was contrary to the law. It had perished, practically speaking, because they were violating it when they were planning on destroying Jeremiah, the only one who was speaking truth to them.

[John Weaver] I want you to turn to the book of Ezekiel. Chapter 7. These people were so absolutely sure and so absolutely certain that the law would not perish from the priest or the prophet, that they were willing to slander Jeremiah, they were willing to kill Jeremiah. And here's what God says in Ezekiel 7 and verse 26. Ezekiel 7, verse 26.

[John Weaver] He says, mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor shall be upon rumor. Then shall they seek a vision of the prophet, but the law shall perish from the priests, and counsel from the ancients. Wow. God says you can't stop me. You cannot stop my judgments. Judicially, You will be left alone. You'll be left to your own counsel, to your own advice, to your own wisdom, to your own rebellion.

[John Weaver] You will die on your sins. You'll be carried into Babylonian captivity. For he said, the law is no more. I'm not speaking to the priests. I'm not speaking to the prophets. What happened? Judah and Jerusalem went into Babylonian captivity. When they came out, they no longer had the Torah, God's law. They now had the Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud. And that's what they have followed from then until now. So Jeremiah said very accurately, literally, practically, prophetically, and judicially, for those people, the law is no more. I've got two applications.

[John Weaver] The first one is this. The greatest judgment that God can pronounce upon a people is the removal of His Word. Do you know what God did with Elijah, the only prophet who was preaching the truth in Israel? He moved him out of the land. And moving Elijah out of the land was just a picture of what was happening in the land. It's true there was a physical drought, but there was also a spiritual drought, for God had removed His preacher from the land. They were without the Word of God. They were under judgment. In Jeremiah's time, God kept Jeremiah in the land. He just shut his mouth. I can show you in Jeremiah 7, Jeremiah 11, Jeremiah 14, where God says, pray not for this people.

[John Weaver] But I'm not going to hear you. Finally he tells them in Jeremiah 14, okay, I'll let you pray. You want to pray for them? But you pray that I'll destroy them because that's exactly what I'm going to do. The greatest judgment that can befall a people is when the law is no more. And let me ask you, where is God's law? in our country. Look at the abortion. Look at the sodomy. Look at the fraud. Look at the corruption. Look at the Marxism, the communism, the socialism. What can we say? The law is no more. What awaits us Judgment. More judgment. We're already under judgment. More severe judgment. My second application to this, you must understand that God's law does not really disappear. It does not really vanish or really go away. God may withhold its truth or its application from us, but it does not withhold the penalty of it from us.

[John Weaver] What David said in Psalm 119 and verse 89, Forever, O Lord, is Thy Word settled in the heavens. God's law does not disappear. It's there. The only thing that we know about it or receive of it is judgment. The penalty of the broken law. when we as a people turn our backs upon God and His Word. Let me put it like this. We may either desire God's law and its proper application to our lives and live obediently and have the blessings of God, or we may despise God's law and refuse its application in our lives, and live disobediently and rebelliously, but we're still going to receive something from the law. We're going to receive the penalty for violating that righteous law. I don't know about you, but for me, I'd rather have the power and the application of God's law in my life and obedience that I had the penalty of God's law in my life for disobedience. Although the law is still in existence, and was even when Jeremiah was alive, he said correctly at that time, for those people, the law is no more.

[John Weaver] Father, we bow to Thee this day. We're so thankful for Jesus Christ. We're thankful for His perfect and personal and perpetual obedience to the law of God. And we do not need to trust in our own obedience, in our own law-keeping, but in the law-keeping and obedience of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We're thankful, Father, for His perfect sacrifice. And that, Lord, He not only washed away our sins and cleansed us and satisfied and placated the wrath and anger of a righteous God, He gave us a robe of righteousness as well. And Lord, I pray that you'd help us to see the trouble that we're in in our country and make proper preparations in our hearts and our homes and our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. Amen.

The Law Is No More

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	5vQitQtqufA
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness: Who is Israel?
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-02-21
Dictation Name
Book	Book 131: Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness — Chapter 9
Source Timed Segments	74

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Reading of Lamentations 2:1-9

Weaver introduces the message and reads the first nine verses of Lamentations 2, highlighting the shocking statement that 'the law is no more.'

Well, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Lamentations chapter 2. I've got a lot to cover. Lamentations chapter 2, and we're going to be reading the first nine verses. I told you last week the title of the message is "The Law Is No More." And I think you're going to be kind of surprised as I show you this from the scripture and yet show you how the law is still in existence as well. But notice the book of Lamentations chapter two, beginning there with verse one, right after the book of Jeremiah and right before the book of Ezekiel, you have the book of Lamentations. Lamentations chapter two. Let's begin reading with verse one.

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 2:1-9

"How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger! The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof. He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about. He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire. The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces." "He hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have made a noise in the house of the LORD, as in the day of a solemn feast. The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together." "Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD."

What an absolutely amazing statement that Jeremiah has made when he said the law is no more. How in the world could Jeremiah say such a thing? How could such a statement possibly be true?

The Abiding Validity of God's Law

Weaver affirms that God's law has not been abrogated, citing Matthew 5:17-20, Romans 7:12, and the complementary relationship between law and gospel.

I'm sure everyone in this room knows that for many years, I've preached concerning the abiding validity of the law, and I have endeavored to teach and to demonstrate that God's law has not changed, and it is applicable to each of us today. So the question has to be asked, in light of verse 9, was I wrong? And the answer is absolutely no. A thousand times no. We know, based upon the word of God, that the law of God has not been abrogated, nullified, set aside, or destroyed. How do we know that? Well, we know it several ways. First of all, in Matthew chapter 5, our Lord is setting forth the true teaching of His law in contrast to the false teaching of the Pharisees. And he says this in Matthew 5, verses 17 through 20. Listen to what our Lord said. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." And then he said this: "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Now I want to call your attention to the fact that our Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Now, I want you to remember that a jot or jod or yod is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.

It's kind of like our comma, just like that. I just made one. You didn't see it. You weren't watching. Number one. Number two, it's too small. It's just a little mark. Just like our comma. Not even quite the size of our comma. But it's the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. So our Lord said it's impossible for the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet to pass from the law till all be fulfilled.

Well, what about the tittle? Well, the tittle in the Hebrew is not a letter, but it is a small distinguishing mark between two Hebrew letters. It's just like if I wrote the word little, L-I-T-T-L-E. And let's say I made my I a little short and a little fat and I made my L's a little tall and a little fat. How do you know which is the I? Oh, that's no problem. I'll go back and put a dot over it. How do you know which is the T? That's no problem. I'll go back and put a little bar across them. Now you know it's L-I-T-T-L-E. Now the dot and the little bar across the T are not letters. They're just small distinguishing marks between two letters. So our Lord said it's easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, in the law, and the little smallest distinguishing mark between two letters to pass away. It's easier for heaven and earth to pass away than the very smallest, most minute letter or distinguishing mark. Obviously, the law did not end in Lamentations 2 in verse 9. So how could Jeremiah say the law is no more? We certainly know that the law was and still is in full effect in Romans chapter 7 and verse 12 when the Apostle Paul said, "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." We also know that the law was not replaced by the gospel.

The Law and the Gospel are not enemies. They are not enmity at each other. They are not contrary to each other. Rather, they complement each other. That is, they complete each other. I want you to hold Lamentations 2, but look very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 3. I want you to notice what the Apostle Paul says. And I might point out that the Apostle Paul is probably the greatest teacher in the New Testament

on the doctrine of justification by faith alone. So he's talking about the gospel. He's talking about justification by faith alone. So Romans 3 verse 27, look what the Apostle Paul writes. Romans 3 verse 27,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:27-31

"Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith."

Now look what he says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:27-31

"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

"Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Obviously, the gospel of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of justification by faith are not contrary to the law of God. If you truly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if you truly preach justification by faith, then the Apostle Paul says that you establish the law. So any so-called gospel preaching then that negates, nullifies, denigrates, or destroys the law is not the gospel of Jesus Christ, nor is it true teaching on justification by faith alone, for real gospel truth establishes the law. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said concerning the law in Galatians 3 and verse 24? He said, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

The Law as Schoolmaster and Its Proper Use

The law teaches us our sinfulness and need for Christ; it was never given for justification. Paul's teaching in Romans 3 and Galatians 3 is explained.

The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. Well, what does a schoolmaster do? He teaches. Well, how does the law of God teach us? How is it our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ? Well, there are a number of things that the law does indeed teach. First of all, it teaches us that we are sinners.

Secondly, it teaches us that we cannot keep the law the way the law demands, a personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience. Thirdly, it teaches us that we cannot save ourselves. Fourthly, it teaches us that there is a vast chasm between a holy God and sinners. And fifthly, it teaches us that if we ever get to that infinitely holy God, across that vast chasm, it must be through the merits of another. And that would be the Lord Jesus Christ. We're pointedly told in Romans 3 in verse 20, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." You have to understand that God's law was never given for justification. God's law was never given as a means of salvation.

You say, well, what about those people in the Old Testament? They were saved by faith, looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, just like we're saved by faith, looking back to the finished work of the Messiah. They were never saved by law. They were never saved by their works. Just like we're never saved by law, and we're never saved by our works. So those in the Old Testament were saved by faith exactly the way we are. They did not depend upon their works. They did not depend upon their keeping the law.

If you would look in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 3, you'll understand that this is what the Apostle Paul is talking about. Look in Philippians chapter 3. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 4, just so you can see what the Apostle Paul had in his flesh. He said this, Philippians 3 verse 4,

Scripture Reading — Philippians 3:4-9

"Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more."

Well, what could Paul trust in in the flesh? He said,

Scripture Reading — Philippians 3:4-9

"Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless."

Now, Paul was not perfect. Paul was not sinless. But Paul was saying, according to the pharisaical teaching, boy, he had it. Yes. But look what he said in verse 7.

"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." So the Apostle Paul then is saying, I'm not counting on anything that I ever did, I'm counting solely upon the righteousness and the obedience of Jesus Christ. And you've got to remember that that righteousness and that obedience is imputed to us by faith.

The Law in the New Covenant

Under the New Covenant, God's law is written on hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10, 10:16), not abolished.

Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 10. Look what God says.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 8:10

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."

Now in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul shows the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Old Covenant, the law of God was written in a table of stone. Now the law of God is written in our hearts and in our minds. If you look in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 16, God says it again,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 8:10

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;"

"and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." So we know that God's law is still in effect, not only because of the teaching of Christ, but the teaching of the Apostle Paul, the teaching of all the other apostles. Moreover, we know that according to Hebrews 8 and 10, the law is now written in our hearts and our minds. So in light of that, you have to ask this question. How could Jeremiah truthfully and accurately say the law is no more?

Interpreting Lamentations 2:9 in Context

Weaver stresses the need to interpret Scripture in context and within the analogy of faith, then provides an overview of Lamentations as a funeral dirge for Jerusalem.

How do we explain that? How do we interpret it? How do we understand it? Well, I want you to go back to the book of Lamentations, if you would. And there are several things I want to bring to your attention before we really begin to examine Lamentations. The first thing is this. You have to remember that every verse of scripture must be taken in its context. Most preaching today is when you take a verse out of context and use it as a pretext to teach about anything you want to teach. So, you have to consider the verse in its context. There is always an immediate context and there is always a remote context.

Secondly, you cannot take one passage of the Bible and make it contradict another plain passage of the Bible. You must interpret a passage within the analogy of faith, that is, within the scope of the whole teaching of Scripture. So if you see a verse here and you say, ah, this means that, and then what you have just said it meant contradicts other plain passages of the Bible, the Bible's not wrong, you are. So you cannot take one passage and make it contradict another plain passage. Now, what I want us to do is look at Lamentations chapter 2, and especially verse 9, and see if we can understand what Jeremiah meant when he said the law is no more, and see if we can explain this statement in light of the immediate context, in light of the remote context, and the overall scope of scripture. In order to do that, you must have an understanding of the overall picture by observing the purpose of the book of Lamentations.

As a result of Judah's continued unrepentant idolatry, God allowed the Babylonians to besiege, plunder, burn, and destroy Jerusalem and Solomon's temple that had been standing for 400 years. The temple was burned to the ground. Most of Jerusalem was burned. The wall was broken down. And the prophet Jeremiah, who is known as the weeping prophet, was an eyewitness to all of this happening. That's why he wrote the book of Lamentations. It is a lament over what happened to Judah and Jerusalem. So let me put it like this, Lamentations describes the funeral of a city. It's a tear-stained portrait of a once proud Jerusalem which is now reduced to rubble by the invading Babylonian hordes. So you have five chapters in the book of Lamentations. Actually they are five poems, a five poem dirge which not only exposes the emotions of Jeremiah but also tells us exactly what happens in the death of Jerusalem and Jerusalem is laying waste and barren. Now let me very quickly tell you about the five chapters. First of all chapter number one deals with this destruction of Jerusalem.

It is a lamentation by Jeremiah over the destruction of Jerusalem. This city has been left desolate because of her sins, and her enemies have mocked her downfall. When you get to chapter 2, or the second poem, you have the anger of Jehovah. You see that Jerusalem's desolation has been brought about by the destruction of Jerusalem because of the righteous anger of God. God is using the Babylonians as His instrument to punish and to destroy the city. Chapter 3, or the third poem, is a prayer for mercy. We don't have time to read all of these, but obviously, the first 18 verses of chapter 3 deals with the miseries and the despair of the people of Jerusalem.

And then the latter portion, he begins to reflect upon the faithfulness and the goodness of God. That's where we read in verse 22 and 23, "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Then when you get to chapter four, it is the siege of Jerusalem again. And once again, Jeremiah is describing the suffering and the starvation of the people, the causes of the siege, the sins of the people, the prophets and the preachers, or the priests. And then in chapter 5, you have a prayer for remembrance. Because there, Jeremiah prays and cries out to God, and he tells us about the degradation of Jerusalem. He tells us that strangers have taken their inheritance.

Their houses are occupied by others. They're having to buy their own drinking water and their own firewood and how the young and the old are mercilessly destroyed. So you can just see from a brief overview of the book of Lamentations that our text occurs in chapter 2 and in verse 9. And chapter 2 then deals with the righteous anger of God. So how in the world do we explain this statement when he says the law is no more? I want to give you a number of ways that that statement could be understood and each of these ways would be a biblical interpretation and a biblical explanation. So if you look at verse 9, Jeremiah writes, "Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD."

Four Ways to Understand 'The Law Is No More'

Jeremiah's statement can be understood literally (original tablets destroyed), practically (temple worship impossible), prophetically (corrupt priests and prophets removed), and judicially (God removed the law's restraining power).

Let me begin by telling you first, Jeremiah's statement could be understood literally, in light of the destruction of the city and especially in light of the destruction of the temple. Do you remember where the original copy of the law was kept? Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 31. We'll look at several passages very quickly. Deuteronomy 31. And look if you would please at verse 9. Deuteronomy 31 and verse 9.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 31:9, 25-26

"And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel."

Now, where did they place that law? Within the Ark.

Skip down, if you would, to verses 25 and 26. Same chapter. "And Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee." So the Ark, then, contained the original copy of the Law. When the temple was destroyed, all of the vessels were carried away into Babylon. In fact, if you would turn over in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 20, turn right on over, 2 Kings chapter 20, you remember how those princes of Babylon had come to Hezekiah, and Hezekiah had showed them everything in his kingdom. And I want you to notice what the prophet Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 2 Kings chapter 20, beginning there with verse 15. Isaiah is speaking to Hezekiah, and he says this,

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 20:15-18

"And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

Notice if you would, everything is to be taken away. And Nebuchadnezzar basically did that. He took everything. Notice, if you would, in 2 Kings chapter 24 and verse 13. 2 Kings 24 verse 13. This is what Nebuchadnezzar has done.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 24:13

"And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said."

What does the Bible say? He carried out all the treasures of the house of the Lord. Anything that was any valuable, that had any value to it, he took it away. Look, if you would, in 2 Kings 25 and verse 13. To show you how thorough he was,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:7

"And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon."

So everything was carried into Babylon. You don't have to turn there, but let me just quote this one. In 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 7, here's what the Bible says.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:7

"Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon."

So everything that was in the temple, Nebuchadnezzar took. So when he said, when Jeremiah said the law is no more, he could have been speaking literally. Because the law then, which was written in tables of stone, could have been destroyed, either broken by fire or taken into Babylon. So he could have been speaking literally. Secondly, Jeremiah's statement could also be considered practically. When Jeremiah said the law is no more, we could understand that with a practical application. It should be obvious if the temple was destroyed, there would be no more sacrifices, no more ceremonies, no more rituals, no more worship that was demanded by the law. How could there be? Everything was destroyed. So practically speaking, it was all over. It was done for. There was no way that the demands of the ceremonial law could any longer be met.

You've got to remember that God demanded if anyone was going to worship Him, in the Old Testament, they had to come to the tabernacle prior to the temple. And secondly, once that tabernacle was done away with, the temple was standing there, they had to bring their offering to the temple. For instance, let's look in our Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 17. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. Leviticus chapter 17. Let's look at the first five verses. Just showing you how practically speaking, what Jeremiah said, the law is no more, could be very, very correct. Notice the book of Leviticus chapter 17 beginning in verse 1.

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 17:1-5, 9

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD;"

"blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people: To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD." Notice what God said, it has to be brought here. Look in Leviticus 17 and verse 9. He says, talking about the man who doesn't do that, "And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people." One other passage, turn right over to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 12. Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 12, and look if you would please at verse 27. Deuteronomy 12, verse 27. God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 12:27

"And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh."

Where were they to offer everything? It was to be at the tabernacle and later at the temple.

So when Jeremiah said the law is no more, he could have been speaking literally in the fact that the original tablets were destroyed or taken into captivity. He could be speaking practically because they could no longer worship. They could no longer sacrifice. They could no longer do anything that the law demanded. So he could be saying, practically speaking, it's over with. Thirdly, Jeremiah could also be speaking prophetically when he said the law is no more. Let me ask you a question. When Jerusalem fell, where were the priests and the prophets? What happened to them? You see, the two main offices are represented by priests and prophets. The Levitical priests have the duties and the obligations of doing what you and I would call the ordinary preaching and teaching of the Word of God or the Law of God. The prophets have the extraordinary office of revealing and preaching divine revelation as it was given to them before the Word of God was completed. Okay? Now, my question is this. Where were the priests? Where were the prophets? They each had duties. You have to remember that most of the priests and most of the prophets were killed or either taken into captivity because of their rebellion against God. Let's take the priests first.

In Malachi 2 verses 7 through 9, let me just read this and I do want you to turn to the book of Ezekiel, okay? Go ahead and find Ezekiel. But listen to Malachi 2 as you turn there. God says,

Scripture Reading — Malachi 2:7-9

"For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts."

But now listen to what God says to the priest.

Scripture Reading — Malachi 2:7-9

"But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts." "Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people."

What? Yeah, the priest did not keep God's law. They did not teach God's law. The priest should have been teaching God's law, but they refused to do so.

Now, in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 22, look at verse 26. Look what God says.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 22:26

"Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them."

What did God say? Her priests have violated my laws. I want you to turn back to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 2 and look at verse 8. In fact, we'll look at several passages in Jeremiah. But look in Jeremiah 2 and verse 8, just showing you what God is now saying concerning the priests. This is one way that you may understand the law is no more.

Not only literally, not only practically, but also prophetically. Because in Jeremiah 2 and verse 8, look at it.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 2:8

"The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit."

So we know the priests were corrupt. That's what God says. Well, what about the prophets? Well, the prophets were equally corrupt as well. Let me just point out several verses in the book of Jeremiah, and there are a number of verses that I could use that I did not. But look in Jeremiah 4 and verse 9. Jeremiah 4 and verse 9. Here are the prophets who were supposed to be declaring the revelation of God to the people. Jeremiah 4 verse 9, "And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder." Now, look in Jeremiah 5 and verse 13.

Jeremiah 5 verse 13, "And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them." The prophets are nothing but blowhards. Why? The word of God is not in them. Skip down to verse 31, Jeremiah 5, same verse, same chapter, watch. God says, "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?" The prophets prophesied falsely. Turn right over to Jeremiah 14. Look if you would please at verses 14 and 15. "Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed." Turn right over to Jeremiah 23, if you would, and look at verses 14 and 15. Jeremiah 23, verse 14. Look what God says. "I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies:"

"they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land." Skip down, if you would, to verse 26. God says, "How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart." If you need any more convincing of the corruption and depravity of the prophets, I would encourage you just to read Jeremiah 26. And you can find out how they substituted their word for God's word. They lied to the people. They taught their own visions and their own dreams. They refused to teach the word of the Lord. And so, when Jeremiah writes in Lamentations 2 and verse 9, the law is no more, he could have been speaking literally, he could have been speaking practically, he could have been speaking prophetically for those who were to teach the law and preach the law were either dead or gone into captivity because they had forsaken God.

Fourthly, Jeremiah's statement, the law is no more, may also be understood judicially. To be honest with you, I think this one interpretation has a great deal going on. I believe all the others are correct. But if you'll look in Jeremiah 2 and verse 9, I'm going to explain judicially to you, we understand a judicial judgment. But in Lamentation 2 in verse 9, God says concerning Jerusalem, "Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD." Are you listening? Here's what happened. God refused to speak to them, because they refuse to hear God.

And what God does, He basically withdraws His hand, and He withdraws Himself exactly the way He did during the book of Hosea. He said in the book of Hosea, they went to seek the Lord, but they found Him not. He had withdrawn Himself. Do you have any idea what happens when God's restraining hand is taken off a people or from a nation? I want you to hold Lamentations 2, but I want you to look to 1 Timothy chapter 1 and let me show you one of the main uses of God's law. Look in 1 Timothy 1, and notice if you would please verse 8. I want you to get ready because I hope you're going to see where we are in this nation, okay? 1 Timothy 1, verse 8, the Apostle Paul writes, "But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;" by the way. There is a lawful use of the law, and there is an unlawful use of the law. An unlawful use of the law is when someone tries to use it for justification or salvation.

It was never meant for that. But now watch. He says, "We know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if" "there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine." Now, without me taking time to do it, if I wanted to, I could show you how verses 9 and 10 compass all ten of the commandments. But I want you to know, he said, the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient. What does he mean by that? You know, I have no problem with the law as long as I'm obedient. But when I become disobedient and rebellious, then the penalty of that violated and broken law falls. One of the uses, one of the proper uses of the law is that it restrains.

Have you ever wondered what keeps a lot of people from breaking into a house and just stealing everything there? Well, the law on one hand, because they realize if God's law was followed, they would really be a whole lot worse off having stolen and gotten caught than they were before they stole because they'd have to make restitution. Moreover, according to God's law, a man has the absolute right to defend his person and his property and somebody that breaks into the house when there's an armed homeowner there is going to definitely be restrained. You see what I'm saying? One of the uses of the law is that it restrains. What happened in Judah and Jerusalem is this. Judah and Jerusalem had burst the bonds of the law. They had thrown off the restraining power of the law. They were at the point where they could care less what God said. They could care less what man said. They were going to do exactly what they were going to do.

They refused to be restrained. They refused to be disciplined. They refused to be chastened. You remember I read this passage last week from Isaiah 1 and verse 5, where God asked, "Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint." In other words, you're not going to listen no matter what I do to you.

So, what does it mean then when I say, when Jeremiah said the law is no more, he could have been speaking judicially. It meant that there was no more restraining influence of God's law. The people were flaunting it, throwing it to the wind, doing what they pleased, and now God had withdrawn himself, and the only thing left for them is absolute judgment and destruction. Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel. Turn right over from Lamentations to Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 5, and I want us to begin reading with verse 5 and read through verse 9. I want to show you this. This is what I'm talking about, how Jeremiah could say, judicially speaking, the law is no more. Ezekiel 5 verse 5, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem:"

Judicial Removal of the Law and Its Consequences

When a people reject God's law, He withdraws His restraining hand, leading to societal chaos and judgment, as seen in 2 Chronicles 15 and Ezekiel 5.

"I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations." What did God say? You've perverted everything. You refuse to listen. So therefore, said God, I will wipe you out.

Now, I want you to turn back to the book of Jeremiah, and just hold it, Jeremiah 18 is where we're going to end up. But I do want you to go back to 2 Chronicles chapter 15. 2 Chronicles 15, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles. We're going to go to 2 Chronicles chapter 15, and then we're going to go to Jeremiah 18. So, watch this. 2 Chronicles chapter 15. If you would like a clear picture of what it is like in a country, in a nation, in a society where the people have thrown off God's law and its restraining power, I want you to look in 2 Chronicles 15 and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch what happens.

"And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you." That is, if you refuse his law, he will forsake you. That is, he will withdraw himself. You won't listen to him. He won't listen to you. Now watch. Verse three. "Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law." Now wait. How could they have been without a true God? How could they have been without law? Well, they were without the true God because they were not listening to God's law. You must remember a king rules by his law. And as long as the priest was not teaching God's law, they were basically without God.

They were a godless country, even though they were a covenant people. They were a godless nation, even though they were a covenant nation. Now watch. "But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity." Let me ask you a question. Just looking at our country, what about those who travel? How about those who go out, those who come in? What about great vexations, not only physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually? What about nation being destroyed? How many wars are we involved in? City against city. Look at the cities that are about to declare bankruptcy. Birmingham, Alabama. Great vexations. For God did vex them. Why?

Because they had forsaken Him and His law. Now go to Jeremiah 18 and look at verse 18. I want to show you the arrogance, the hypocrisy, and the wickedness of the people in Jeremiah's day. This is the people that God destroyed. Jeremiah 18 and verse 18. Look at this. "Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words." Now listen to this. They said, now come on, let us devise devices against Jeremiah.

By the way, they also planned to kill him. "For the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet." The law shall not perish, they said, but what they were about to do was contrary to the law. It had perished, practically speaking, because they were violating it when they were planning on destroying Jeremiah, the only one who was speaking truth to them. I want you to turn to the book of Ezekiel. Chapter 7. These people were so absolutely sure and so absolutely certain that the law would not perish from the priest or the prophet, that they were willing to slander Jeremiah, they were willing to kill Jeremiah. And here's what God says in Ezekiel 7 and verse 26. Ezekiel 7, verse 26.

Applications: The Greatest Judgment and the Law's Penalty

The greatest judgment is the removal of God's Word; though the law may be withheld in its teaching, its penalty remains for disobedience. Believers should desire the law's application for blessing, not penalty.

The first one is this. The greatest judgment that God can pronounce upon a people is the removal of His Word. Do you know what God did with Elijah, the only prophet who was preaching the truth in Israel? He moved him out of the land. And moving Elijah out of the land was just a picture of what was happening in the land. It's true there was a physical drought, but there was also a spiritual drought, for God had removed His preacher from the land. They were without the Word of God. They were under judgment. In Jeremiah's time, God kept Jeremiah in the land. He just shut his mouth. I can show you in Jeremiah 7, Jeremiah 11, Jeremiah 14, where God says, "Pray not for this people."

"But I'm not going to hear you." Finally he tells them in Jeremiah 14, okay, I'll let you pray. You want to pray for them? But you pray that I'll destroy them because that's exactly what I'm going to do. The greatest judgment that can befall a people is when the law is no more. And let me ask you, where is God's law in our country? Look at the abortion. Look at the sodomy. Look at the fraud. Look at the corruption. Look at the Marxism, the communism, the socialism. What can we say? The law is no more. What awaits us? Judgment. More judgment. We're already under judgment. More severe judgment. My second application to this, you must understand that God's law does not really disappear. It does not really vanish or really go away. God may withhold its truth or its application from us, but it does not withhold the penalty of it from us.

What David said in Psalm 119 and verse 89, "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." God's law does not disappear. It's there. The only thing that we know about it or receive of it is judgment. The penalty of the broken law, when we as a people turn our backs upon God and His Word. Let me put it like this. We may either desire God's law and its proper application to our lives and live obediently and have the blessings of God, or we may despise God's law and refuse its application in our lives, and live disobediently and rebelliously, but we're still going to receive something from the law. We're going to receive the penalty for violating that righteous law. I don't know about you, but for me, I'd rather have the power and the application of God's law in my life and obedience than I had the penalty of God's law in my life for disobedience. Although the law is still in existence, and was even when Jeremiah was alive, he said correctly at that time, for those people, the law is no more.

Father, we bow to Thee this day. We're so thankful for Jesus Christ. We're thankful for His perfect and personal and perpetual obedience to the law of God. And we do not need to trust in our own obedience, in our own law-keeping, but in the law-keeping and obedience of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We're thankful, Father, for His perfect sacrifice. And that, Lord, He not only washed away our sins and cleansed us and satisfied and placated the wrath and anger of a righteous God, He gave us a robe of righteousness as well. And Lord, I pray that you'd help us to see the trouble that we're in in our country and make proper preparations in our hearts and our homes and our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Abiding Validity of God's Law

Summary: God's moral law remains in full effect, as taught by Christ and the apostles, and is not nullified by the gospel.

Evidence: Weaver cites Matthew 5:17-20, Romans 7:12, and Romans 3:31 to argue that the law is holy, just, and good, and that faith establishes the law.

The Law as a Schoolmaster to Christ

Summary: The law reveals sin and drives sinners to Christ for justification, never serving as a means of salvation.

Evidence: Weaver explains Galatians 3:24 and Romans 3:20, stating the law teaches us we are sinners and cannot save ourselves.

Contextual Interpretation of Scripture

Summary: Every verse must be understood in its immediate and remote context, without contradicting other plain passages.

Evidence: Weaver insists that Lamentations 2:9 must be interpreted within the overall scope of Scripture and the purpose of Lamentations.

Judicial Withdrawal of God's Restraining Law

Summary: When a people persistently reject God's law, He removes its restraining influence, leading to societal breakdown and judgment.

Evidence: Weaver points to 1 Timothy 1:8-10 and the example of Judah, where the law's restraint was removed, resulting in destruction.

The Greatest Judgment: Removal of God's Word

Summary: The most severe judgment God can bring is the removal of His Word and true preaching from a people.

Evidence: Weaver references Elijah's removal from Israel and God's command to Jeremiah not to pray for the people, indicating a spiritual drought.

The Law's Penalty Remains Despite Its Rejection

Summary: Even when a society rejects God's law, the penalty for violating it still applies, bringing judgment.

Evidence: Weaver states that God's law does not disappear; its penalty is still received by those who live disobediently.

Key Arguments

The Law Is Not Abrogated by the Gospel

Summary: Jesus and Paul both affirm the enduring validity of the law; true gospel preaching establishes the law rather than nullifying it.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Matthew 5:17-20 and Romans 3:31, arguing that any gospel that negates the law is false.

The Law Was Never a Means of Salvation

Summary: Both Old and New Testament saints are saved by faith alone, not by law-keeping; the law's purpose is to reveal sin.

Evidence: Weaver explains that the law was given for the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20) and that Paul counted his law-righteousness as loss (Philippians 3).

Jeremiah's Statement Can Be Understood in Multiple Valid Ways

Summary: The phrase 'the law is no more' is true literally, practically, prophetically, and judicially, without contradicting the law's eternal nature.

Evidence: Weaver details how the original tablets were lost, temple worship ceased, corrupt teachers were removed, and God's restraining hand was withdrawn.

Rejection of God's Law Leads to National Judgment

Summary: When a nation throws off God's law, God withdraws His protection, resulting in chaos, war, and destruction.

Evidence: Weaver cites 2 Chronicles 15:3-6 and Ezekiel 5:5-9 to show the consequences of forsaking God's law.

The Removal of God's Word Is the Ultimate Judgment

Summary: God's silence and the absence of true preaching signify His judgment on a rebellious people.

Evidence: Weaver points to God's command to Jeremiah not to pray for the people (Jeremiah 7, 11, 14) and the removal of Elijah.

Scripture References

Lamentations 2:1-9

Context: The primary text, describing God's anger against Jerusalem and the statement 'the law is no more.'

Matthew 5:17-20

Context: Jesus affirms He came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it; not one jot or tittle will pass until all is fulfilled.

Romans 7:12

Context: Paul declares the law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good.

Romans 3:27-31

Context: Paul argues that justification by faith does not void the law but establishes it.

Galatians 3:24

Context: The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ for justification by faith.

Romans 3:20

Context: By the deeds of the law no flesh is justified; the law gives knowledge of sin.

Philippians 3:4-9

Context: Paul counts his law-righteousness as loss for the excellency of knowing Christ and being found in Him by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Context: Christ was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Hebrews 8:10

Context: God promises to put His laws into the minds and write them on hearts under the New Covenant.

Hebrews 10:16

Context: Repeats the New Covenant promise of God writing His laws on hearts and minds.

Deuteronomy 31:9, 25-26

Context: Moses wrote the law and placed it in the side of the ark of the covenant as a witness.

2 Kings 20:15-18

Context: Isaiah prophesies that all treasures of Hezekiah's house will be carried to Babylon.

2 Kings 24:13

Context: Nebuchadnezzar carried out all treasures of the Lord's house and cut up the gold vessels.

2 Kings 25:13

Context: The Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars and sea and carried the bronze to Babylon.

2 Chronicles 36:7

Context: Nebuchadnezzar carried vessels of the Lord's house to Babylon and placed them in his temple.

Leviticus 17:1-5, 9

Context: Sacrifices must be brought to the tabernacle door; otherwise bloodguilt is imputed.

Deuteronomy 12:27

Context: Burnt offerings and sacrifices must be offered at the altar of the Lord.

Malachi 2:7-9

Context: Priests should teach the law, but they have departed from the way and caused many to stumble.

Ezekiel 22:26

Context: Priests have violated God's law, profaned holy things, and hidden their eyes from Sabbaths.

Jeremiah 2:8

Context: Priests did not seek the Lord; those who handled the law did not know God; prophets prophesied by Baal.

Historical References

Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon's temple (586 BC)

Context: God allowed the Babylonians to besiege, plunder, burn, and destroy Jerusalem and the temple as judgment for Judah's idolatry.

Nebuchadnezzar's carrying of temple vessels to Babylon

Context: Nebuchadnezzar took all treasures and vessels from the temple to Babylon, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy to Hezekiah.

Babylonian captivity and the rise of the Talmud

Context: After the exile, Judah no longer had the Torah but followed the Babylonian Talmud instead.

Elijah's removal from Israel

Context: God removed Elijah, the only true prophet, as a picture of spiritual drought and judgment on Israel.

Important Quotes

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Significance: Jesus' own words affirming the enduring validity of the law, foundational to Weaver's argument.

Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Significance: Paul's teaching that true gospel preaching establishes rather than nullifies the law.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Significance: Key verse showing the law's purpose in leading sinners to Christ for justification.

For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Significance: Emphasizes the eternal, unchanging nature of God's law despite human rejection.

The greatest judgment that God can pronounce upon a people is the removal of His Word.

Significance: Weaver's central application: the absence of God's Word is the ultimate judgment on a nation.

We may either desire God's law and its proper application to our lives and live obediently and have the blessings of God, or we may despise God's law and refuse its application in our lives, and live disobediently and rebelliously, but we're still going to receive something from the law. We're going to receive the penalty for violating that righteous law.

Significance: Summarizes the choice between blessing through obedience and penalty through disobedience.

Discussion Questions

How does Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:17-20 help us understand the relationship between the Old Testament law and the New Testament believer?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that Jesus did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it, and that not even the smallest letter or mark will pass away.

In what ways does the law serve as a 'schoolmaster' to bring us to Christ, and why is it dangerous to use the law for justification?

Context: Weaver explains that the law reveals sin and our inability to save ourselves, pointing us to Christ's righteousness.

What does it mean for the law to be written on our hearts under the New Covenant, and how should that affect our daily lives?

Context: Weaver cites Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16, showing that the law is internalized in believers, not abolished.

How can Jeremiah's statement 'the law is no more' be true in multiple senses without contradicting the eternal nature of God's law?

Context: Weaver offers literal, practical, prophetic, and judicial interpretations that harmonize with Scripture.

What are the signs that a nation or church has 'thrown off the restraining power of the law,' and what consequences follow?

Context: Weaver describes Judah's rebellion and God's withdrawal, leading to societal chaos and judgment.

Why is the removal of God's Word considered the greatest judgment, and how should this shape our prayers and priorities?

Context: Weaver points to Elijah's removal and God's command to Jeremiah not to pray as examples of spiritual drought.

How can we cultivate a desire for God's law and its application in our lives, rather than experiencing its penalty?

Context: Weaver concludes with the choice between obedience leading to blessing and disobedience leading to penalty.

Applications

Trust in Christ's Righteousness, Not Our Own

Summary: Believers should rely solely on the imputed righteousness of Christ through faith, not on their own law-keeping.

Evidence: Weaver emphasizes that Paul counted his law-righteousness as loss and trusted only in Christ's obedience (Philippians 3:4-9).

Rightly Interpret Scripture in Context

Summary: Avoid taking verses out of context; interpret difficult passages within the whole counsel of God's Word.

Evidence: Weaver insists that Lamentations 2:9 must be understood in its immediate and remote context without contradicting other Scriptures.

Recognize the Danger of Rejecting God's Law

Summary: When a society throws off God's law, it invites judgment and the removal of God's restraining grace.

Evidence: Weaver points to the example of Judah and the current state of our nation, warning of increased judgment.

Desire God's Law for Blessing, Not Penalty

Summary: Choose to live obediently under God's law to receive His blessings rather than experiencing the penalty of disobedience.

Evidence: Weaver states that we will receive either the power and application of the law for obedience or its penalty for rebellion.

Make Proper Preparations in Light of National Judgment

Summary: In view of our country's rebellion, believers should prepare their hearts, homes, and lives spiritually.

Evidence: Weaver prays for God to help us see the trouble we are in and make proper preparations.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:02:55Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:46:42Z

Clean Transcript

The Law Is No More

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Lamentations chapter 2. I've got a lot to cover. Lamentations chapter 2, and we're going to be reading the first nine verses. I told you last week the title of the message is "The Law Is No More." And I think you're going to be kind of surprised as I show you this from the scripture and yet show you how the law is still in existence as well. But notice the book of Lamentations chapter two, beginning there with verse one, right after the book of Jeremiah and right before the book of Ezekiel, you have the book of Lamentations. Lamentations chapter two. Let's begin reading with verse one.
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"How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger! The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof. He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about. He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire. The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces."
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"He hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have made a noise in the house of the LORD, as in the day of a solemn feast. The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together."
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"Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD." What an absolutely amazing statement that Jeremiah has made when he said the law is no more. How in the world could Jeremiah say such a thing? How could such a statement possibly be true?
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I'm sure everyone in this room knows that for many years, I've preached concerning the abiding validity of the law, and I have endeavored to teach and to demonstrate that God's law has not changed, and it is applicable to each of us today. So the question has to be asked, in light of verse 9, was I wrong? And the answer is absolutely no. A thousand times no. We know, based upon the word of God, that the law of God has not been abrogated, nullified, set aside, or destroyed. How do we know that? Well, we know it several ways. First of all, in Matthew chapter 5, our Lord is setting forth the true teaching of His law in contrast to the false teaching of the Pharisees. And he says this in Matthew 5, verses 17 through 20. Listen to what our Lord said. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
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"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." And then he said this: "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Now I want to call your attention to the fact that our Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Now, I want you to remember that a jot or jod or yod is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.
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It's kind of like our comma, just like that. I just made one. You didn't see it. You weren't watching. Number one. Number two, it's too small. It's just a little mark. Just like our comma. Not even quite the size of our comma. But it's the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. So our Lord said it's impossible for the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet to pass from the law till all be fulfilled.
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Well, what about the tittle? Well, the tittle in the Hebrew is not a letter, but it is a small distinguishing mark between two Hebrew letters. It's just like if I wrote the word little, L-I-T-T-L-E. And let's say I made my I a little short and a little fat and I made my L's a little tall and a little fat. How do you know which is the I? Oh, that's no problem.
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I'll go back and put a dot over it. How do you know which is the T? That's no problem. I'll go back and put a little bar across them. Now you know it's L-I-T-T-L-E. Now the dot and the little bar across the T are not letters. They're just small distinguishing marks between two letters. So our Lord said it's easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, in the law, and the little smallest distinguishing mark between two letters to pass away. It's easier for heaven and earth to pass away than the very smallest, most minute letter or distinguishing mark. Obviously, the law did not end in Lamentations 2 in verse 9. So how could Jeremiah say the law is no more? We certainly know that the law was and still is in full effect in Romans chapter 7 and verse 12 when the Apostle Paul said, "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." We also know that the law was not replaced by the gospel.
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The Law and the Gospel are not enemies. They are not enmity at each other. They are not contrary to each other. Rather, they complement each other. That is, they complete each other. I want you to hold Lamentations 2, but look very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 3. I want you to notice what the Apostle Paul says. And I might point out that the Apostle Paul is probably the greatest teacher in the New Testament
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on the doctrine of justification by faith alone. So he's talking about the gospel. He's talking about justification by faith alone. So Romans 3 verse 27, look what the Apostle Paul writes. Romans 3 verse 27, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith." Now look what he says, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
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"Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Obviously, the gospel of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of justification by faith are not contrary to the law of God. If you truly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if you truly preach justification by faith, then the Apostle Paul says that you establish the law. So any so-called gospel preaching then that negates, nullifies, denigrates, or destroys the law is not the gospel of Jesus Christ, nor is it true teaching on justification by faith alone, for real gospel truth establishes the law. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said concerning the law in Galatians 3 and verse 24? He said, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
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The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. Well, what does a schoolmaster do? He teaches. Well, how does the law of God teach us? How is it our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ? Well, there are a number of things that the law does indeed teach. First of all, it teaches us that we are sinners.
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Secondly, it teaches us that we cannot keep the law the way the law demands, a personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience. Thirdly, it teaches us that we cannot save ourselves.
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Fourthly, it teaches us that there is a vast chasm between a holy God and sinners. And fifthly, it teaches us that if we ever get to that infinitely holy God, across that vast chasm, it must be through the merits of another. And that would be the Lord Jesus Christ. We're pointedly told in Romans 3 in verse 20, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." You have to understand that God's law was never given for justification. God's law was never given as a means of salvation.
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You say, well, what about those people in the Old Testament? They were saved by faith, looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, just like we're saved by faith, looking back to the finished work of the Messiah. They were never saved by law. They were never saved by their works. Just like we're never saved by law, and we're never saved by our works. So those in the Old Testament were saved by faith exactly the way we are. They did not depend upon their works. They did not depend upon their keeping the law.
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If you would look in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 3, you'll understand that this is what the Apostle Paul is talking about. Look in Philippians chapter 3. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 4, just so you can see what the Apostle Paul had in his flesh. He said this, Philippians 3 verse 4, "Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more." Well, what could Paul trust in in the flesh?
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He said, "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." Now, Paul was not perfect. Paul was not sinless. But Paul was saying, according to the pharisaical teaching, boy, he had it. Yes. But look what he said in verse 7.
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"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." So the Apostle Paul then is saying, I'm not counting on anything that I ever did, I'm counting solely upon the righteousness and the obedience of Jesus Christ. And you've got to remember that that righteousness and that obedience is imputed to us by faith.
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In 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21, let me just quote it. The Bible says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." So as Christians, we do not trust in our own works. We do not trust in our own law-keeping. We do not trust in our own obedience. The only one that we trust in is Jesus Christ, for He is the only one who has ever kept the law of God personally, perfectly, and perpetually. He is the one that has worked out a perfect righteousness, and it's given to us by faith. How is the law connected with the New Testament? Do you remember we have the Old Testament? We have the New Testament. I hope you remember that the word testament literally means covenant. You have the Old Covenant, you have the New Covenant. Look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 8, very quickly, Hebrews chapter 8, and notice if you would verse 10, Hebrews 8 in verse 10. If I had time, I could take you to 2 Corinthians 3, but this will be sufficient.
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Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 10. Look what God says. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." Now in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul shows the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Old Covenant, the law of God was written in a table of stone. Now the law of God is written in our hearts and in our minds. If you look in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 16, God says it again, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;"
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"and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." So we know that God's law is still in effect, not only because of the teaching of Christ, but the teaching of the Apostle Paul, the teaching of all the other apostles. Moreover, we know that according to Hebrews 8 and 10, the law is now written in our hearts and our minds. So in light of that, you have to ask this question. How could Jeremiah truthfully and accurately say the law is no more?
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How do we explain that? How do we interpret it? How do we understand it? Well, I want you to go back to the book of Lamentations, if you would. And there are several things I want to bring to your attention before we really begin to examine Lamentations. The first thing is this. You have to remember that every verse of scripture must be taken in its context. Most preaching today is when you take a verse out of context and use it as a pretext to teach about anything you want to teach. So, you have to consider the verse in its context. There is always an immediate context and there is always a remote context.
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Secondly, you cannot take one passage of the Bible and make it contradict another plain passage of the Bible. You must interpret a passage within the analogy of faith, that is, within the scope of the whole teaching of Scripture. So if you see a verse here and you say, ah, this means that, and then what you have just said it meant contradicts other plain passages of the Bible, the Bible's not wrong, you are. So you cannot take one passage and make it contradict another plain passage. Now, what I want us to do is look at Lamentations chapter 2, and especially verse 9, and see if we can understand what Jeremiah meant when he said the law is no more, and see if we can explain this statement in light of the immediate context, in light of the remote context, and the overall scope of scripture. In order to do that, you must have an understanding of the overall picture by observing the purpose of the book of Lamentations.
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As a result of Judah's continued unrepentant idolatry, God allowed the Babylonians to besiege, plunder, burn, and destroy Jerusalem and Solomon's temple that had been standing for 400 years. The temple was burned to the ground. Most of Jerusalem was burned. The wall was broken down. And the prophet Jeremiah, who is known as the weeping prophet, was an eyewitness to all of this happening. That's why he wrote the book of Lamentations. It is a lament over what happened to Judah and Jerusalem. So let me put it like this, Lamentations describes the funeral of a city. It's a tear-stained portrait of a once proud Jerusalem which is now reduced to rubble by the invading Babylonian hordes. So you have five chapters in the book of Lamentations. Actually they are five poems, a five poem dirge which not only exposes the emotions of Jeremiah but also tells us exactly what happens in the death of Jerusalem and Jerusalem is laying waste and barren. Now let me very quickly tell you about the five chapters. First of all chapter number one deals with this destruction of Jerusalem.
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It is a lamentation by Jeremiah over the destruction of Jerusalem. This city has been left desolate because of her sins, and her enemies have mocked her downfall. When you get to chapter 2, or the second poem, you have the anger of Jehovah. You see that Jerusalem's desolation has been brought about by the destruction of Jerusalem because of the righteous anger of God. God is using the Babylonians as His instrument to punish and to destroy the city. Chapter 3, or the third poem, is a prayer for mercy. We don't have time to read all of these, but obviously, the first 18 verses of chapter 3 deals with the miseries and the despair of the people of Jerusalem.
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And then the latter portion, he begins to reflect upon the faithfulness and the goodness of God. That's where we read in verse 22 and 23, "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Then when you get to chapter four, it is the siege of Jerusalem again. And once again, Jeremiah is describing the suffering and the starvation of the people, the causes of the siege, the sins of the people, the prophets and the preachers, or the priests. And then in chapter 5, you have a prayer for remembrance. Because there, Jeremiah prays and cries out to God, and he tells us about the degradation of Jerusalem. He tells us that strangers have taken their inheritance.
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Their houses are occupied by others. They're having to buy their own drinking water and their own firewood and how the young and the old are mercilessly destroyed. So you can just see from a brief overview of the book of Lamentations that our text occurs in chapter 2 and in verse 9. And chapter 2 then deals with the righteous anger of God. So how in the world do we explain this statement when he says the law is no more? I want to give you a number of ways that that statement could be understood and each of these ways would be a biblical interpretation and a biblical explanation. So if you look at verse 9, Jeremiah writes, "Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD."
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Let me begin by telling you first, Jeremiah's statement could be understood literally, in light of the destruction of the city and especially in light of the destruction of the temple. Do you remember where the original copy of the law was kept?
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Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 31. We'll look at several passages very quickly. Deuteronomy 31. And look if you would please at verse 9. Deuteronomy 31 and verse 9. "And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel." Now, where did they place that law? Within the Ark.
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Skip down, if you would, to verses 25 and 26. Same chapter. "And Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee." So the Ark, then, contained the original copy of the Law.
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When the temple was destroyed, all of the vessels were carried away into Babylon. In fact, if you would turn over in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 20, turn right on over, 2 Kings chapter 20, you remember how those princes of Babylon had come to Hezekiah, and Hezekiah had showed them everything in his kingdom. And I want you to notice what the prophet Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 2 Kings chapter 20, beginning there with verse 15. Isaiah is speaking to Hezekiah, and he says this, "And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."
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Notice if you would, everything is to be taken away. And Nebuchadnezzar basically did that. He took everything. Notice, if you would, in 2 Kings chapter 24 and verse 13. 2 Kings 24 verse 13. This is what Nebuchadnezzar has done. "And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said."
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What does the Bible say? He carried out all the treasures of the house of the Lord. Anything that was any valuable, that had any value to it, he took it away. Look, if you would, in 2 Kings 25 and verse 13. To show you how thorough he was, "And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon." So everything was carried into Babylon.
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You don't have to turn there, but let me just quote this one. In 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 7, here's what the Bible says. "Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon." So everything that was in the temple, Nebuchadnezzar took. So when he said, when Jeremiah said the law is no more, he could have been speaking literally. Because the law then, which was written in tables of stone, could have been destroyed, either broken by fire or taken into Babylon. So he could have been speaking literally. Secondly, Jeremiah's statement could also be considered practically. When Jeremiah said the law is no more, we could understand that with a practical application. It should be obvious if the temple was destroyed, there would be no more sacrifices, no more ceremonies, no more rituals, no more worship that was demanded by the law. How could there be? Everything was destroyed. So practically speaking, it was all over. It was done for. There was no way that the demands of the ceremonial law could any longer be met.
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You've got to remember that God demanded if anyone was going to worship Him, in the Old Testament, they had to come to the tabernacle prior to the temple. And secondly, once that tabernacle was done away with, the temple was standing there, they had to bring their offering to the temple. For instance, let's look in our Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 17. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. Leviticus chapter 17. Let's look at the first five verses.
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Just showing you how practically speaking, what Jeremiah said, the law is no more, could be very, very correct. Notice the book of Leviticus chapter 17 beginning in verse 1. "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD;"
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"blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people: To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD." Notice what God said, it has to be brought here.
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Look in Leviticus 17 and verse 9. He says, talking about the man who doesn't do that, "And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people." One other passage, turn right over to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 12. Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 12, and look if you would please at verse 27. Deuteronomy 12, verse 27. God says, "And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh." Where were they to offer everything? It was to be at the tabernacle and later at the temple.
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So when Jeremiah said the law is no more, he could have been speaking literally in the fact that the original tablets were destroyed or taken into captivity. He could be speaking practically because they could no longer worship. They could no longer sacrifice. They could no longer do anything that the law demanded. So he could be saying, practically speaking, it's over with. Thirdly, Jeremiah could also be speaking prophetically when he said the law is no more.
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Let me ask you a question. When Jerusalem fell, where were the priests and the prophets? What happened to them? You see, the two main offices are represented by priests and prophets. The Levitical priests have the duties and the obligations of doing what you and I would call the ordinary preaching and teaching of the Word of God or the Law of God. The prophets have the extraordinary office of revealing and preaching divine revelation as it was given to them before the Word of God was completed. Okay? Now, my question is this. Where were the priests? Where were the prophets? They each had duties. You have to remember that most of the priests and most of the prophets were killed or either taken into captivity because of their rebellion against God. Let's take the priests first.
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In Malachi 2 verses 7 through 9, let me just read this and I do want you to turn to the book of Ezekiel, okay? Go ahead and find Ezekiel. But listen to Malachi 2 as you turn there. God says, "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts." But now listen to what God says to the priest. "But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts."
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"Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people." What? Yeah, the priest did not keep God's law. They did not teach God's law. The priest should have been teaching God's law, but they refused to do so.
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Now, in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 22, look at verse 26. Look what God says. "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." What did God say? Her priests have violated my laws. I want you to turn back to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 2 and look at verse 8. In fact, we'll look at several passages in Jeremiah. But look in Jeremiah 2 and verse 8, just showing you what God is now saying concerning the priests. This is one way that you may understand the law is no more.
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Not only literally, not only practically, but also prophetically. Because in Jeremiah 2 and verse 8, look at it. "The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit." So we know the priests were corrupt. That's what God says. Well, what about the prophets? Well, the prophets were equally corrupt as well. Let me just point out several verses in the book of Jeremiah, and there are a number of verses that I could use that I did not. But look in Jeremiah 4 and verse 9. Jeremiah 4 and verse 9. Here are the prophets who were supposed to be declaring the revelation of God to the people. Jeremiah 4 verse 9, "And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder." Now, look in Jeremiah 5 and verse 13.
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Jeremiah 5 verse 13, "And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them." The prophets are nothing but blowhards. Why? The word of God is not in them. Skip down to verse 31, Jeremiah 5, same verse, same chapter, watch. God says, "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?" The prophets prophesied falsely. Turn right over to Jeremiah 14.
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Look if you would please at verses 14 and 15. "Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed." Turn right over to Jeremiah 23, if you would, and look at verses 14 and 15. Jeremiah 23, verse 14. Look what God says. "I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies:"
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"they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land." Skip down, if you would, to verse 26. God says, "How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart." If you need any more convincing of the corruption and depravity of the prophets, I would encourage you just to read Jeremiah 26.
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And you can find out how they substituted their word for God's word. They lied to the people. They taught their own visions and their own dreams. They refused to teach the word of the Lord. And so, when Jeremiah writes in Lamentations 2 and verse 9, the law is no more, he could have been speaking literally, he could have been speaking practically, he could have been speaking prophetically for those who were to teach the law and preach the law were either dead or gone into captivity because they had forsaken God.
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Fourthly, Jeremiah's statement, the law is no more, may also be understood judicially. To be honest with you, I think this one interpretation has a great deal going on. I believe all the others are correct. But if you'll look in Jeremiah 2 and verse 9, I'm going to explain judicially to you, we understand a judicial judgment. But in Lamentation 2 in verse 9, God says concerning Jerusalem, "Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD." Are you listening? Here's what happened. God refused to speak to them, because they refuse to hear God.
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And what God does, He basically withdraws His hand, and He withdraws Himself exactly the way He did during the book of Hosea. He said in the book of Hosea, they went to seek the Lord, but they found Him not. He had withdrawn Himself. Do you have any idea what happens when God's restraining hand is taken off a people or from a nation? I want you to hold Lamentations 2, but I want you to look to 1 Timothy chapter 1 and let me show you one of the main uses of God's law. Look in 1 Timothy 1, and notice if you would please verse 8. I want you to get ready because I hope you're going to see where we are in this nation, okay? 1 Timothy 1, verse 8, the Apostle Paul writes, "But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;" by the way. There is a lawful use of the law, and there is an unlawful use of the law. An unlawful use of the law is when someone tries to use it for justification or salvation.
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It was never meant for that. But now watch. He says, "We know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if"
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"there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine." Now, without me taking time to do it, if I wanted to, I could show you how verses 9 and 10 compass all ten of the commandments. But I want you to know, he said, the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient. What does he mean by that? You know, I have no problem with the law as long as I'm obedient. But when I become disobedient and rebellious, then the penalty of that violated and broken law falls. One of the uses, one of the proper uses of the law is that it restrains.
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Have you ever wondered what keeps a lot of people from breaking into a house and just stealing everything there? Well, the law on one hand, because they realize if God's law was followed, they would really be a whole lot worse off having stolen and gotten caught than they were before they stole because they'd have to make restitution. Moreover, according to God's law, a man has the absolute right to defend his person and his property and somebody that breaks into the house when there's an armed homeowner there is going to definitely be restrained.
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You see what I'm saying? One of the uses of the law is that it restrains. What happened in Judah and Jerusalem is this. Judah and Jerusalem had burst the bonds of the law. They had thrown off the restraining power of the law. They were at the point where they could care less what God said. They could care less what man said. They were going to do exactly what they were going to do.
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They refused to be restrained. They refused to be disciplined. They refused to be chastened. You remember I read this passage last week from Isaiah 1 and verse 5, where God asked, "Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint." In other words, you're not going to listen no matter what I do to you.
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So, what does it mean then when I say, when Jeremiah said the law is no more, he could have been speaking judicially. It meant that there was no more restraining influence of God's law. The people were flaunting it, throwing it to the wind, doing what they pleased, and now God had withdrawn himself, and the only thing left for them is absolute judgment and destruction.
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Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel. Turn right over from Lamentations to Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 5, and I want us to begin reading with verse 5 and read through verse 9. I want to show you this. This is what I'm talking about, how Jeremiah could say, judicially speaking, the law is no more. Ezekiel 5 verse 5, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem:"
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"I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations." What did God say? You've perverted everything. You refuse to listen. So therefore, said God, I will wipe you out.
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Now, I want you to turn back to the book of Jeremiah, and just hold it, Jeremiah 18 is where we're going to end up. But I do want you to go back to 2 Chronicles chapter 15. 2 Chronicles 15, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles. We're going to go to 2 Chronicles chapter 15, and then we're going to go to Jeremiah 18. So, watch this. 2 Chronicles chapter 15. If you would like a clear picture of what it is like in a country, in a nation, in a society where the people have thrown off God's law and its restraining power, I want you to look in 2 Chronicles 15 and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch what happens.
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"And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you." That is, if you refuse his law, he will forsake you. That is, he will withdraw himself.
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You won't listen to him. He won't listen to you. Now watch. Verse three.
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"Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law." Now wait. How could they have been without a true God? How could they have been without law? Well, they were without the true God because they were not listening to God's law. You must remember a king rules by his law. And as long as the priest was not teaching God's law, they were basically without God.
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They were a godless country, even though they were a covenant people. They were a godless nation, even though they were a covenant nation. Now watch. "But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity."
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Let me ask you a question. Just looking at our country, what about those who travel? How about those who go out, those who come in? What about great vexations, not only physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually? What about nation being destroyed? How many wars are we involved in? City against city. Look at the cities that are about to declare bankruptcy. Birmingham, Alabama. Great vexations. For God did vex them. Why?
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Because they had forsaken Him and His law. Now go to Jeremiah 18 and look at verse 18. I want to show you the arrogance, the hypocrisy, and the wickedness of the people in Jeremiah's day. This is the people that God destroyed. Jeremiah 18 and verse 18. Look at this. "Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words." Now listen to this. They said, now come on, let us devise devices against Jeremiah.
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By the way, they also planned to kill him. "For the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet." The law shall not perish, they said, but what they were about to do was contrary to the law. It had perished, practically speaking, because they were violating it when they were planning on destroying Jeremiah, the only one who was speaking truth to them.
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I want you to turn to the book of Ezekiel. Chapter 7. These people were so absolutely sure and so absolutely certain that the law would not perish from the priest or the prophet, that they were willing to slander Jeremiah, they were willing to kill Jeremiah. And here's what God says in Ezekiel 7 and verse 26. Ezekiel 7, verse 26.
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He says, "Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients." Wow. God says you can't stop me. You cannot stop my judgments. Judicially, you will be left alone. You'll be left to your own counsel, to your own advice, to your own wisdom, to your own rebellion.
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You will die on your sins. You'll be carried into Babylonian captivity. For he said, the law is no more. I'm not speaking to the priests. I'm not speaking to the prophets. What happened? Judah and Jerusalem went into Babylonian captivity. When they came out, they no longer had the Torah, God's law. They now had the Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud. And that's what they have followed from then until now. So Jeremiah said very accurately, literally, practically, prophetically, and judicially, for those people, the law is no more. I've got two applications.
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The first one is this. The greatest judgment that God can pronounce upon a people is the removal of His Word. Do you know what God did with Elijah, the only prophet who was preaching the truth in Israel? He moved him out of the land. And moving Elijah out of the land was just a picture of what was happening in the land. It's true there was a physical drought, but there was also a spiritual drought, for God had removed His preacher from the land. They were without the Word of God. They were under judgment. In Jeremiah's time, God kept Jeremiah in the land. He just shut his mouth. I can show you in Jeremiah 7, Jeremiah 11, Jeremiah 14, where God says, "Pray not for this people."
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"But I'm not going to hear you." Finally he tells them in Jeremiah 14, okay, I'll let you pray. You want to pray for them? But you pray that I'll destroy them because that's exactly what I'm going to do. The greatest judgment that can befall a people is when the law is no more. And let me ask you, where is God's law in our country? Look at the abortion. Look at the sodomy. Look at the fraud. Look at the corruption. Look at the Marxism, the communism, the socialism. What can we say? The law is no more. What awaits us? Judgment. More judgment. We're already under judgment. More severe judgment. My second application to this, you must understand that God's law does not really disappear. It does not really vanish or really go away. God may withhold its truth or its application from us, but it does not withhold the penalty of it from us.
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What David said in Psalm 119 and verse 89, "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." God's law does not disappear. It's there. The only thing that we know about it or receive of it is judgment. The penalty of the broken law, when we as a people turn our backs upon God and His Word. Let me put it like this. We may either desire God's law and its proper application to our lives and live obediently and have the blessings of God, or we may despise God's law and refuse its application in our lives, and live disobediently and rebelliously, but we're still going to receive something from the law. We're going to receive the penalty for violating that righteous law. I don't know about you, but for me, I'd rather have the power and the application of God's law in my life and obedience than I had the penalty of God's law in my life for disobedience. Although the law is still in existence, and was even when Jeremiah was alive, he said correctly at that time, for those people, the law is no more.
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Father, we bow to Thee this day. We're so thankful for Jesus Christ. We're thankful for His perfect and personal and perpetual obedience to the law of God. And we do not need to trust in our own obedience, in our own law-keeping, but in the law-keeping and obedience of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We're thankful, Father, for His perfect sacrifice. And that, Lord, He not only washed away our sins and cleansed us and satisfied and placated the wrath and anger of a righteous God, He gave us a robe of righteousness as well. And Lord, I pray that you'd help us to see the trouble that we're in in our country and make proper preparations in our hearts and our homes and our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:02:55Z

The Law Is No More

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver examines Lamentations 2:9, where Jeremiah declares 'the law is no more,' and reconciles this statement with the abiding validity of God's law. He explains that Jeremiah's words can be understood literally (the original tablets were destroyed or taken), practically (temple worship ceased), prophetically (the priests and prophets who taught the law were corrupt and removed), and judicially (God removed the restraining influence of the law as judgment). The sermon emphasizes that God's law remains in effect, as taught by Christ and the apostles, and that the greatest judgment is the removal of God's Word from a people.

Introduction and Reading of Lamentations 2:1-9

Weaver introduces the message and reads the first nine verses of Lamentations 2, highlighting the shocking statement that 'the law is no more.'

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 2:1-9

"How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger! The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof. He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about. He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire. The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces." "He hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have made a noise in the house of the LORD, as in the day of a solemn feast. The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together." "Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD."

What an absolutely amazing statement that Jeremiah has made when he said the law is no more. How in the world could Jeremiah say such a thing? How could such a statement possibly be true?

The Abiding Validity of God's Law

Weaver affirms that God's law has not been abrogated, citing Matthew 5:17-20, Romans 7:12, and the complementary relationship between law and gospel.

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:27-31

"Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith."

Now look what he says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:27-31

"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

The Law as Schoolmaster and Its Proper Use

The law teaches us our sinfulness and need for Christ; it was never given for justification. Paul's teaching in Romans 3 and Galatians 3 is explained.

Scripture Reading — Philippians 3:4-9

"Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more."

Well, what could Paul trust in in the flesh? He said,

Scripture Reading — Philippians 3:4-9

"Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless."

Now, Paul was not perfect. Paul was not sinless. But Paul was saying, according to the pharisaical teaching, boy, he had it. Yes. But look what he said in verse 7.

The Law in the New Covenant

Under the New Covenant, God's law is written on hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10, 10:16), not abolished.

Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 10. Look what God says.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 8:10

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 8:10

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;"

Interpreting Lamentations 2:9 in Context

Weaver stresses the need to interpret Scripture in context and within the analogy of faith, then provides an overview of Lamentations as a funeral dirge for Jerusalem.

Four Ways to Understand 'The Law Is No More'

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 31:9, 25-26

"And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel."

Now, where did they place that law? Within the Ark.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 20:15-18

"And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 24:13

"And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said."

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:7

"And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon."

So everything was carried into Babylon. You don't have to turn there, but let me just quote this one. In 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 7, here's what the Bible says.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:7

"Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon."

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 17:1-5, 9

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD;"

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 12:27

"And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh."

Where were they to offer everything? It was to be at the tabernacle and later at the temple.

In Malachi 2 verses 7 through 9, let me just read this and I do want you to turn to the book of Ezekiel, okay? Go ahead and find Ezekiel. But listen to Malachi 2 as you turn there. God says,

Scripture Reading — Malachi 2:7-9

"For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts."

But now listen to what God says to the priest.

Scripture Reading — Malachi 2:7-9

"But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts." "Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people."

What? Yeah, the priest did not keep God's law. They did not teach God's law. The priest should have been teaching God's law, but they refused to do so.

Now, in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 22, look at verse 26. Look what God says.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 22:26

"Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them."

Not only literally, not only practically, but also prophetically. Because in Jeremiah 2 and verse 8, look at it.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 2:8

"The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit."

Judicial Removal of the Law and Its Consequences

When a people reject God's law, He withdraws His restraining hand, leading to societal chaos and judgment, as seen in 2 Chronicles 15 and Ezekiel 5.

Applications: The Greatest Judgment and the Law's Penalty

The Law Is No More

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	5vQitQtqufA
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness: Who is Israel?
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-02-21
Dictation Name
Book	Book 131: Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness — Chapter 9
Source Timed Segments	74

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Reading of Lamentations 2:1-9: Weaver introduces the message and reads the first nine verses of Lamentations 2, highlighting the shocking statement that 'the law is no more.'
The Abiding Validity of God's Law: Weaver affirms that God's law has not been abrogated, citing Matthew 5:17-20, Romans 7:12, and the complementary relationship between law and gospel.
The Law as Schoolmaster and Its Proper Use: The law teaches us our sinfulness and need for Christ; it was never given for justification. Paul's teaching in Romans 3 and Galatians 3 is explained.
The Law in the New Covenant: Under the New Covenant, God's law is written on hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10, 10:16), not abolished.
Interpreting Lamentations 2:9 in Context: Weaver stresses the need to interpret Scripture in context and within the analogy of faith, then provides an overview of Lamentations as a funeral dirge for Jerusalem.
Four Ways to Understand 'The Law Is No More': Jeremiah's statement can be understood literally (original tablets destroyed), practically (temple worship impossible), prophetically (corrupt priests and prophets removed), and judicially (God removed the law's restraining power).
Judicial Removal of the Law and Its Consequences: When a people reject God's law, He withdraws His restraining hand, leading to societal chaos and judgment, as seen in 2 Chronicles 15 and Ezekiel 5.
Applications: The Greatest Judgment and the Law's Penalty: The greatest judgment is the removal of God's Word; though the law may be withheld in its teaching, its penalty remains for disobedience. Believers should desire the law's application for blessing, not penalty.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

The Law Is Not Abrogated by the Gospel

Jesus and Paul both affirm the enduring validity of the law; true gospel preaching establishes the law rather than nullifying it.

Weaver quotes Matthew 5:17-20 and Romans 3:31, arguing that any gospel that negates the law is false.

The Law Was Never a Means of Salvation

Both Old and New Testament saints are saved by faith alone, not by law-keeping; the law's purpose is to reveal sin.

Weaver explains that the law was given for the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20) and that Paul counted his law-righteousness as loss (Philippians 3).

Jeremiah's Statement Can Be Understood in Multiple Valid Ways

The phrase 'the law is no more' is true literally, practically, prophetically, and judicially, without contradicting the law's eternal nature.

Weaver details how the original tablets were lost, temple worship ceased, corrupt teachers were removed, and God's restraining hand was withdrawn.

Rejection of God's Law Leads to National Judgment

When a nation throws off God's law, God withdraws His protection, resulting in chaos, war, and destruction.

Weaver cites 2 Chronicles 15:3-6 and Ezekiel 5:5-9 to show the consequences of forsaking God's law.

The Removal of God's Word Is the Ultimate Judgment

God's silence and the absence of true preaching signify His judgment on a rebellious people.

Weaver points to God's command to Jeremiah not to pray for the people (Jeremiah 7, 11, 14) and the removal of Elijah.

Scripture References

Lamentations 2:1-9: The primary text, describing God's anger against Jerusalem and the statement 'the law is no more.'
Matthew 5:17-20: Jesus affirms He came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it; not one jot or tittle will pass until all is fulfilled.
Romans 7:12: Paul declares the law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good.
Romans 3:27-31: Paul argues that justification by faith does not void the law but establishes it.
Galatians 3:24: The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ for justification by faith.
Romans 3:20: By the deeds of the law no flesh is justified; the law gives knowledge of sin.
Philippians 3:4-9: Paul counts his law-righteousness as loss for the excellency of knowing Christ and being found in Him by faith.
2 Corinthians 5:21: Christ was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
Hebrews 8:10: God promises to put His laws into the minds and write them on hearts under the New Covenant.
Hebrews 10:16: Repeats the New Covenant promise of God writing His laws on hearts and minds.
Deuteronomy 31:9, 25-26: Moses wrote the law and placed it in the side of the ark of the covenant as a witness.
2 Kings 20:15-18: Isaiah prophesies that all treasures of Hezekiah's house will be carried to Babylon.
2 Kings 24:13: Nebuchadnezzar carried out all treasures of the Lord's house and cut up the gold vessels.
2 Kings 25:13: The Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars and sea and carried the bronze to Babylon.
2 Chronicles 36:7: Nebuchadnezzar carried vessels of the Lord's house to Babylon and placed them in his temple.
Leviticus 17:1-5, 9: Sacrifices must be brought to the tabernacle door; otherwise bloodguilt is imputed.
Deuteronomy 12:27: Burnt offerings and sacrifices must be offered at the altar of the Lord.
Malachi 2:7-9: Priests should teach the law, but they have departed from the way and caused many to stumble.
Ezekiel 22:26: Priests have violated God's law, profaned holy things, and hidden their eyes from Sabbaths.
Jeremiah 2:8: Priests did not seek the Lord; those who handled the law did not know God; prophets prophesied by Baal.

Historical References

Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon's temple (586 BC): God allowed the Babylonians to besiege, plunder, burn, and destroy Jerusalem and the temple as judgment for Judah's idolatry.
Nebuchadnezzar's carrying of temple vessels to Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar took all treasures and vessels from the temple to Babylon, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy to Hezekiah.
Babylonian captivity and the rise of the Talmud: After the exile, Judah no longer had the Torah but followed the Babylonian Talmud instead.
Elijah's removal from Israel: God removed Elijah, the only true prophet, as a picture of spiritual drought and judgment on Israel.

Important Quotes

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Jesus' own words affirming the enduring validity of the law, foundational to Weaver's argument.

Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Paul's teaching that true gospel preaching establishes rather than nullifies the law.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Key verse showing the law's purpose in leading sinners to Christ for justification.

For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Emphasizes the eternal, unchanging nature of God's law despite human rejection.

The greatest judgment that God can pronounce upon a people is the removal of His Word.

Weaver's central application: the absence of God's Word is the ultimate judgment on a nation.

We may either desire God's law and its proper application to our lives and live obediently and have the blessings of God, or we may despise God's law and refuse its application in our lives, and live disobediently and rebelliously, but we're still going to receive something from the law. We're going to receive the penalty for violating that righteous law.

Summarizes the choice between blessing through obedience and penalty through disobedience.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:17-20 help us understand the relationship between the Old Testament law and the New Testament believer?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that Jesus did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it, and that not even the smallest letter or mark will pass away.

[Question]

In what ways does the law serve as a 'schoolmaster' to bring us to Christ, and why is it dangerous to use the law for justification?

[Context]

Weaver explains that the law reveals sin and our inability to save ourselves, pointing us to Christ's righteousness.

[Question]

What does it mean for the law to be written on our hearts under the New Covenant, and how should that affect our daily lives?

[Context]

Weaver cites Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16, showing that the law is internalized in believers, not abolished.

[Question]

How can Jeremiah's statement 'the law is no more' be true in multiple senses without contradicting the eternal nature of God's law?

[Context]

Weaver offers literal, practical, prophetic, and judicial interpretations that harmonize with Scripture.

[Question]

What are the signs that a nation or church has 'thrown off the restraining power of the law,' and what consequences follow?

[Context]

Weaver describes Judah's rebellion and God's withdrawal, leading to societal chaos and judgment.

[Question]

Why is the removal of God's Word considered the greatest judgment, and how should this shape our prayers and priorities?

[Context]

Weaver points to Elijah's removal and God's command to Jeremiah not to pray as examples of spiritual drought.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a desire for God's law and its application in our lives, rather than experiencing its penalty?

[Context]

Weaver concludes with the choice between obedience leading to blessing and disobedience leading to penalty.

Applications

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