The subject of Continuity and Discontinuity is one of the "hot potato" issues in Reformed theology today. How many of the laws in the Old Testament are Christians to obey today, and how many of those laws are fulfilled and done away in Christ? Some divide the Law of Moses into three distinct codes, or lists of laws: the ceremonial law, the civil law, and the moral law (the Ten Commandments). The ceremonial and civil laws have been fulfilled, but the moral law is still in effect without change. Any suggestion that the Ten Commandments have been altered or dropped in any sense earns the label of being an "antinomian."
The first question asked by this view is this: do you believe the Ten Commandments are the rule of life for a Christian today? The response to that question in this book is this: the Ten Commandments are a vital part of a Christian’s rule of life, not as they are written on the tables of covenant as the words or terms of the covenant God made with Israel (Exodus 34:27, 28), but as those commandments are interpreted and applied by Christ and his apostles. Our Lord raised the moral standard in the Sermon on the Mount and in the epistles. Our Lord changed some laws, dropped some laws, and added some laws. He never once contradicted Moses. He did contrast his new and higher law with Moses. However, contrasting and showing something is better is not contradicting.
The real issue involved as the author demonstrates in this book is this: Does Jesus replace Moses as a new lawgiver in the same sense that he replaces Aaron as High Priest? Is Jesus a new lawgiver, or is he merely the final interpreter of Moses? Does Moses rule the Christian's conscience as the final authority on morality, or is that throne occupied by Christ alone? If we discuss covenants, there is 100% discontinuity. The Old Covenant, in totality, has been replaced by the New Covenant. If we discuss God's one unchanging purpose in sovereign grace, there is 100% continuity.
