4 seest, brother/ said they, c how many thousands of Jews there are who believe, and they are all zealous of the law.’ (Acts, xxi. 20.) How could this have been possible, if the law was supposed to be abolished by the new dispensation ?” That the law here referred to was the ceremonial law is quite evident from the rest of the chapter; for in the next verse St. Luke says : “ And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.” They therefore prevail upon St. Paul to go through certain ceremonies of the Jewish religion, the conclusion of which leads to a tumult, in which St. Paul’s life is in danger, and he is only saved by the interposition of the Roman commander. In the next chapter (xxii. 3), St. Paul says, in his address to the people, that he was “taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.” Under this Mosaic law, then, one of the most stringent and most frequently repeated commands of God, and the longest in the Decalogue is : “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” etc., and, in enforcing this command, God said: “ Every one that defileth the (Sabbath day) shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.” If the law is not fulfilled or abolished, then this command is in force, for it was not repealed by our Saviour, since he taught on the Sabbath days ; yet the whole Christian world, with few exceptions, constantly violate it, observing another day, and thereby incurring the penalty of death. St. Paul says (Ephesians ii. 15) of Christ: “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments (contained) in ordinances ; for to make in himself of twain one new man, (so) making peace.’’ Again (Gal. ii. 16), “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ,. that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law, for byythe works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Hooker (Eccles. Law, bk. 3, ch. 10)
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