What Was Abolished at the Cross?¶

A Plain-English Summary of the Biblical Evidence¶

Introduction¶

When Jesus died on the cross, what parts of God's law ended? Were all Old Testament laws nailed to the cross and abolished, or only certain categories? This question lies at the heart of one of Christianity's longest-running debates and directly affects how believers understand their obligations today.

Many people assume the answer is simple: either all law was abolished, or none was. But the New Testament itself is far more precise than either of these positions. This study examines every passage that describes something as "nailed," "abolished," "done away," "changed," or "taken away" -- seven primary texts in all -- and identifies exactly what each passage says was removed. The investigation pays close attention to the Greek vocabulary, because the specific words the biblical writers chose tell us what they meant.

The result is a consistent pattern across all seven passages: not one of them explicitly names the Ten Commandments or the moral law as the thing abolished. Instead, each passage uses specific vocabulary to identify ceremonial regulations, sacrificial laws, priesthood succession rules, or the law's curse as what ended at the cross -- while other passages in the same letters affirm the moral law as continuing.

Passage by Passage: What Was Nailed, Abolished, or Changed?¶

Colossians 2:14 -- "The Handwriting of Ordinances"¶

The most frequently cited abolition text describes what was "nailed to his cross":

"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." (Colossians 2:14)

The Greek phrase is cheirographon tois dogmasin -- literally, "a hand-written [document] of ordinances." Two details in this phrase matter greatly.

First, cheirographon means "hand-written," from cheir (hand) and grapho (write). But the Ten Commandments were not hand-written by any human being. Scripture is explicit about their authorship:

"And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." (Exodus 31:18)

"And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables." (Exodus 32:16)

The Decalogue was "the writing of God." Moses' ceremonial legislation, by contrast, was hand-written by Moses:

"And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished." (Deuteronomy 31:24)

Second, the qualifying word dogmasin ("ordinances" or "decrees") is the Greek word dogma. This word appears five times in the New Testament: for Caesar's decree (Luke 2:1), government edicts (Acts 17:7), the Jerusalem Council's decisions (Acts 16:4), and the abolished ordinances in Colossians 2:14 and Ephesians 2:15. Dogma is never used for the Ten Commandments anywhere in Scripture.

The context confirms what these "ordinances" were. Paul immediately explains the practical result of their removal:

"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." (Colossians 2:16-17)

The abolished "handwriting of ordinances" freed believers from judgment regarding ceremonial matters -- foods, drinks, festivals, new moons, and ceremonial sabbaths that were "shadows" pointing to Christ. Paul even identifies the "ordinances" further in the same passage:

"Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using; after the commandments and doctrines of men." (Colossians 2:21-22)

Ephesians 2:15 -- "The Law of Commandments in Ordinances"¶

Paul uses similar language describing how Christ reconciled Jews and Gentiles:

"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." (Ephesians 2:15)

The Greek construction narrows progressively: ton nomon (the law) becomes ton entolon (of the commandments) becomes en dogmasin (in ordinances). Each layer restricts the reference. Not all law. Not all commandments. Specifically those commandments that consist of dogma -- ordinances. The same word used in Colossians 2:14, and never used for the Decalogue.

The context makes clear this refers to things like circumcision, which Paul mentions specifically in verses 11-12 as the "middle wall of partition" separating Jews from Gentiles.

What makes this passage particularly striking is that in the same letter, Paul quotes the fifth commandment as still binding for Christians:

"Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." (Ephesians 6:2-3)

Paul calls this entole (commandment) and cites it as authoritative. The same author, in the same document, abolishes ceremonial dogma while affirming a moral entole. He recognizes categories within the law.

Hebrews 7:12 -- A Change in Priesthood Law¶

Hebrews identifies a specific legal change:

"For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law." (Hebrews 7:12)

The context identifies which law changed: the law governing Levitical priestly succession. When Jesus became high priest "after the order of Melchisedec" rather than through Aaron's line, the law governing who could serve as priest necessarily changed. The passage specifies this was the "law of a carnal commandment" (verse 16) -- the requirement that priests come from a specific family line. This has nothing to do with the Ten Commandments, and both sides of the debate agree that the Levitical priesthood laws changed.

Hebrews 9:10 -- "Carnal Ordinances" with a Time Limit¶

Hebrews identifies temporary regulations by name and by nature:

"Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation." (Hebrews 9:10)

The Greek dikaiomata sarkos ("carnal ordinances") is defined right in the text: "meats and drinks, and divers washings." These are ceremonial regulations about food, beverage, and ritual washing. They were temporary by design, "imposed until the time of reformation" -- a built-in expiration date.

Hebrews 10:1-9 -- Sacrifices Taken Away, Law Written on Hearts¶

Hebrews describes what was "taken away":

"Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." (Hebrews 10:8-9)

"Sacrifice and offering" -- the entire sacrificial system -- was taken away. These sacrifices could never "make the comers thereunto perfect" (verse 1) and served as "a shadow of good things to come" (verse 1).

But in the same chapter, just seven verses later, the author affirms God's law in a different way:

"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." (Hebrews 10:16)

The same passage that removes the sacrificial system affirms that God's laws continue -- now written on hearts rather than on stone tablets. The sacrifices end; the moral law is internalized.

2 Corinthians 3:7 -- The Glory, Not the Law¶

One passage is often cited as proof that the Ten Commandments themselves were abolished:

"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away." (2 Corinthians 3:7)

Since this references something "written and engraven in stones" -- clearly the Ten Commandments -- many readers assume it teaches that the Decalogue was "done away." But the Greek grammar identifies what was actually being done away.

The phrase "which glory was to be done away" translates ten doxan...ten katargoumenen. The participle katargoumenen is feminine, agreeing with doxan ("glory," a feminine noun). If Paul intended to say the law was done away, the participle would need to be masculine to agree with nomos ("law," a masculine noun).

The grammar is precise: the GLORY of Moses' face was being done away -- not the law. Moses' face shone with a reflected glory that was temporary and fading. Paul contrasts the fading glory of Moses' ministry with the surpassing glory of Christ's ministry. The ministration changes; the moral standard does not.

This reading aligns with Paul's own statements elsewhere. The same author calls the law "holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good" (Romans 7:12) and emphatically declares: "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law" (Romans 3:31).

Galatians 3:13 -- The Curse, Not the Law¶

Paul describes what Christ accomplished:

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." (Galatians 3:13)

The Greek construction is exact: ek tes kataras tou nomou -- "from the curse OF the law." Christ redeemed believers from the law's penalty, not from the law itself. The law still defines right and wrong; what has been removed is its condemnation for those who are in Christ.

The Vocabulary Pattern¶

Across all seven abolition passages, a consistent vocabulary pattern emerges. The New Testament uses one set of words for what was abolished and a different set for what continues:

Words used for what was abolished: - Dogma -- ordinances, decrees (Colossians 2:14; Ephesians 2:15) - Cheirographon -- hand-written document (Colossians 2:14) - Dikaiomata sarkos -- carnal ordinances about foods and washings (Hebrews 9:10) - Thusia kai prosphora -- sacrifice and offering (Hebrews 10:8) - "Shadow of things to come" (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 10:1)

Words used for what continues: - Entole -- commandment, used for moral commands (Ephesians 6:2; Romans 7:12) - "The commandments of God" (1 Corinthians 7:19; Revelation 14:12) - "Holy, just, good, spiritual" (Romans 7:12, 14) - "Laws written on hearts" (Hebrews 10:16)

Paul's own usage is the strongest evidence for this distinction. He uses the same Greek word katargeo ("abolish" or "make void") in two opposite directions. In Ephesians 2:15, he uses it to abolish "the law of commandments in ordinances." In Romans 3:31, he uses it to emphatically deny abolishing the law: "Do we then make void [katargeo] the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."

The same author, using the same verb, abolishes one thing and refuses to abolish another. Paul clearly recognized categories within "the law."

This distinction is crystallized in a single verse:

"Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God." (1 Corinthians 7:19)

Paul dismisses a Mosaic ceremonial requirement (circumcision) as "nothing" while in the same breath affirming "the commandments of God" as something. He does not treat all law as a single unit with a single fate.

What Jesus Said¶

Jesus addressed the question of law and abolition directly:

"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." (Matthew 5:17-18)

Jesus explicitly denies coming to destroy the law. He states that not even the smallest marks ("jot or tittle") will pass until heaven and earth pass. His use of "fulfil" does not mean "terminate" -- He immediately warns against breaking even "the least commandments" and teaching others to do so:

"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." (Matthew 5:19)

Luke records a parallel statement emphasizing the law's permanence:

"And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." (Luke 16:17)

What the Bible Does NOT Say¶

None of the seven abolition passages explicitly names the Ten Commandments as what was abolished. This is a verifiable fact any reader can check. Colossians 2:14 names dogma. Ephesians 2:15 names dogma. Hebrews 7:12 names priesthood law. Hebrews 9:10 names carnal ordinances about meats, drinks, and washings. Hebrews 10:1-9 names sacrifice and offering. 2 Corinthians 3:7 identifies the glory as what was done away (by grammar). Galatians 3:13 identifies the curse as what was removed. Not one of them says "the Ten Commandments" or "the moral law" was abolished.

The word dogma is never used for the Ten Commandments. It appears five times in the New Testament and is used in both primary abolition texts. Its complete absence from any Decalogue context is a vocabulary distinction the text itself makes.

The Bible does not teach that all law is a single indivisible unit. Scripture consistently shows distinctions between different types of law: different delivery methods (God spoke the Decalogue directly; ceremonial laws came through Moses), different media (stone tablets versus parchment scroll), different storage locations (inside the ark versus beside the ark), and different New Testament vocabulary (dogma for ceremonial ordinances, entole for moral commands). The claim that abolishing any part of the law requires abolishing all of it is an inference that the text does not make.

The Bible does not say that 2 Corinthians 3 abolished the Decalogue. The passage mentions the Decalogue's stone tablets, but the Greek grammar identifies the glory -- not the law -- as what was being done away. The feminine participle agrees with the feminine noun "glory," not with the masculine noun "law."

The Bible does not say "redeemed from the curse of the law" means redeemed from the law itself. Galatians 3:13 says Christ redeemed from the curse of the law. The text distinguishes between the law and its penalty.

The Bible does not definitively state whether "sabbath days" in Colossians 2:16 means the weekly Sabbath or the annual ceremonial sabbaths. The word sabbaton can refer to either. However, the Old Testament consistently distinguishes the weekly Sabbath (grounded in creation, part of the Ten Commandments) from ceremonial sabbaths (part of the feast system). Leviticus 23:37-38 explicitly places feast observances "beside the sabbaths of the LORD." The three-part sequence in Colossians 2:16 -- holy day, new moon, sabbath days -- matches the ceremonial calendar pattern found in 1 Chronicles 23:31, 2 Chronicles 2:4, and Ezekiel 45:17. The dogma vocabulary context also favors the ceremonial reading.

The Consistent Biblical Picture¶

When the evidence from all seven passages is assembled, a coherent picture emerges.

What was abolished at the cross: the ceremonial system that separated Jews from Gentiles; hand-written ordinances (cheirographon tois dogmasin); carnal ordinances about foods, drinks, and washings; the sacrificial system that could never perfect the conscience; laws governing Levitical priesthood succession; regulations that served as "shadows" pointing forward to Christ; and the law's curse for believers who are in Christ.

What continues after the cross: God's moral law, now written on hearts rather than on stone (Hebrews 10:16); the Ten Commandments, which Jesus said He did not come to destroy (Matthew 5:17); "the commandments of God" that believers keep alongside their faith in Jesus (Revelation 14:12); the law described as "holy, just, good, and spiritual" (Romans 7:12, 14); and the law that faith establishes rather than makes void (Romans 3:31).

The New Testament writers are not confused or contradictory when they simultaneously describe abolition and affirmation. They are making careful distinctions -- using different vocabulary, identifying different referents, and arriving at different conclusions for different categories of law. The ceremonial system that pointed to Christ found its fulfillment in Him and ended. The moral law that reflects God's character continues, now empowered by the Spirit working from within.

Conclusion¶

The biblical evidence from the seven primary abolition passages is remarkably consistent. What was abolished at the cross was not the moral law but the ceremonial system -- the hand-written ordinances about foods, festivals, sacrifices, and ritual washings that separated Jews from Gentiles and pointed forward to Christ. The Greek vocabulary in each passage specifies what was removed: dogma (ordinances), cheirographon (hand-written document), dikaiomata sarkos (carnal ordinances), thusia kai prosphora (sacrifice and offering), priesthood succession law, the katara (curse) of the law, and the doxa (glory) of Moses' face.

Meanwhile, the moral law continues under the new covenant. Jesus denied coming to destroy the law. Paul called the law holy, just, good, and spiritual. He established the law through faith rather than making it void. He quoted the fifth commandment as binding in the same letter where he abolished ceremonial ordinances. He dismissed circumcision while affirming the commandments of God. Hebrews removed the sacrificial system and in the very same chapter affirmed that God writes His laws on hearts.

This understanding preserves both truths that the New Testament teaches: the finished work of Christ, who fulfilled and ended the ceremonial system that pointed to Him, and the enduring nature of God's moral standards, which define righteousness across every age. Believers are free from ceremonial regulations and free from the law's condemnation. But they are not free from the moral law itself -- they are now empowered by the Spirit to fulfill its righteous requirements from the heart.

Based on the full technical study completed 2026-02-23

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