DO CHRISTIANS NEED TO OBEY
OLD TESTAMENT LAWS?
Every verse in the
Bible is important. If you don’t understand a passage or verse, try to learn
why the verse is written in the Bible and what its significance is. We must not
only study Bible, but also know how to study and understand Bible, which is why
learning theology is very important. Most Christians skip certain
verses without trying to know why such verses are in the Bible. Here is
an example.
Matthew 5: 29 and 30
says, "If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it
away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole
body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to
stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of
your body than for your whole body to go into hell. "
If you do not apply
reasoning and God given wisdom here and insist on obeying this implicitly, the
best way to identify Christians in public places will be looking for
people who don't have eyes and right hands. The Church will be full of
people without eyes and right hands. While studying the scriptures, before
interpreting a verse, we must give due consideration to the context, cultural
habits, historic and social background during Biblical times. Examples:
Slavery is never condemned in the Old and New Testaments. I will be
jailed if I keep a slave now. I can go on giving examples. Exodus 23:13 says,
"Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on
your lips” Are we not allowed to say names like Ashtaroth and Baal which are
repeatedly mentioned in the Bible? Are we not allowed to call people with Greek
deities’ names Apollo and Diana? We don’t have to take the above commandment
literally. This simply means that we should steer clear of idolatry. The
apostles did not change the name of the first gentile convert Cornelius or that
of the first European convert Lydia.
Bible has examples of
praying by kneeling down, hands lifted up and praying in closed rooms. It has
no reference to closing of eyes during praying. But we close our eyes for
concentration and to avoid distractions, thus we use God given wisdom. At
times, we try to prove our points on controversial issues by quoting suitable
scattered verses from the Scriptures. No, always look for what the Bible as a
whole talk on that issue, by studying different Bible Versions.
Apply common sense and
use your knowledge of language and grammar to differentiate between literal and
figurative statements in the Scripture.
Another question.
Do Christians need to obey Old Testament laws?
The key to
understanding the relationship between the Christian and the Law is knowing
that the Old Testament law was given to the nation of Israel,
not to Christians. Some of the laws were to reveal to the
Israelites how to obey and please God (the Ten Commandments, for
example). Some of the laws were to show the Israelites how to worship
God and atone for sin (the sacrificial system). Some of the laws were
intended to make the Israelites distinct from other nations (the food and
clothing rules). None of the Old Testament law is binding
on Christians today. When Jesus died on the cross, He put an end to
the Old Testament law
Romans 10:4” For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Galatians 3:23–25 ”Now
before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the
coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ
came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith
has come, we are no longer under a guardian”
Ephesians 2:15 ”Even
when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by
grace you have been saved”
In place of the Old Testament law, Christians are
under the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), which is to “love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and to love
your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). If we obey those two
commands, we will be fulfilling all that Christ requires of us: “All the Law
and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:40). Now, this
does not mean the Old Testament law is irrelevant today. Many of
the commands in the Old Testament law fall into the categories
of “loving God” and “loving your neighbor.” The Old Testament law
can be a good guidepost for knowing how to love God and knowing what goes into
loving your neighbor. At the same time, to say that the Old Testament law
applies to Christians today is incorrect. The Old Testament law
is a unit (James 2:10). Either all of it applies, or none of it applies. If
Christ fulfilled some of it, such as the sacrificial system, He fulfilled all
of it.
“This is love for God:
to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome” (1 John
5:3). The Ten Commandments were essentially a summary of the entire Old Testament law.
Nine of the Ten Commandments are clearly repeated in the New Testament (all
except the command to observe the Sabbath day). Obviously, if we are loving
God, we will not be worshipping false gods or bowing down before idols. If we
are loving our neighbors, we will not be murdering them, lying to them,
committing adultery against them, or coveting what belongs to them. The purpose
of the Old Testament law is to convict people of our inability
to keep the law and point us to our need for Jesus Christ as Savior (Romans
7:7-9; Galatians 3:24). The Old Testament law was never intended
by God to be the universal law for all people for all of time. We are to love
God and love our neighbors. If we obey those two commands faithfully,
we will be upholding all that God requires of us.