Threefold Division of the Law

Definition and Meaning

The threefold division of the law is an interpretive framework that sorts the Old Testament law given through Moses into three categories according to its character.

• Moral law: the will of God, summarized in the Ten Commandments, which is binding across all ages and peoples
• Ceremonial law: regulations concerning worship, such as the Old Testament sacrifices, purity regulations, dietary laws, and festivals. These are understood as shadows that prefigure Christ.
• Civil (judicial) law: the penal, property, and land regulations that governed the nation of ancient Israel

The division seeks to answer the question, "Which parts of the Old Testament law must be observed today?" For the broader discussion, see Law and Gospel.

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture itself contains no explicit statement dividing the law into three parts. Those who accept the division point to evidence such as the fact that only the Ten Commandments were engraved on tablets of stone; Mark 7:18–19, which sets aside the dietary regulations; Hebrews 10:1, which calls the sacrifices "a shadow of good things to come"; and Acts 15:28–29, in which circumcision was not required of Gentile believers.

In church history, the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas systematized the distinction among moral, ceremonial, and judicial precepts in his Summa Theologiae. After the Reformation, John Calvin employed the same division. Chapter 19 of the Westminster Confession of Faith holds that the ceremonial law has been abrogated and that the civil law expired together with the state of Israel, leaving only its "general equity," and it confesses that the moral law binds all people forever. Similar teaching appears in Article VII of the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles and in the Methodist Articles of Religion, which inherited it.

The division also has its critics. Dispensationalism and some Baptist theologians regard the law as a single, indivisible whole. Citing James 2:10, they argue that the entire law has been fulfilled in Christ and that believers are under "the law of Christ." At the opposite end of the spectrum, theonomy holds that the principles of the civil law should also be applied to nations today.

Practice in Korean Churches

Many Korean Presbyterian denominations that adopt the Westminster Confession of Faith as their doctrinal standard teach this division in catechetical instruction. The practice of reading the Ten Commandments in worship is likewise tied to this understanding. The Korean Methodist Church and the Anglican Church of Korea have inherited the confessional traditions mentioned above.

The division underlies a number of practical debates. In the Sabbath and Lord's Day debate, Reformed Christians regard the Fourth Commandment as moral law and treat it as the basis for Lord's Day observance. The Seventh-day Adventist Church accepts the distinction between moral and ceremonial law but argues on the same grounds that the Saturday Sabbath must be kept. In the tithing debate as well, positions diverge depending on the category to which the tithe is assigned. Provisions such as the year of release, the sabbatical year, and the Jubilee are usually classified as civil or ceremonial law. Consequently, rather than calling for their literal observance, sermons on them often apply their underlying principles—caring for the poor and forgiving debts—to the present day.