Does the Old Testament Law apply to me?

The law of the Old Testament is traditionally presented as including 613 laws and made up three different types

1) Civil Law (eg Be just with the poor, ())

2) Ceremonial law (eg Laws on animals for food (), Priestly duties ())

3) Moral Law (eg Love God (), Stealing or lying ())

Many people ask if the Old Testament law applies to them.

The answer could depend on whether the person is Jew or Gentile. The law was the basis of a covenant made between the nation of Israel and God on Mount Sinai and written down by Moses.

So one could argue that it applies to anyone who is part of the nation of Israel and does not apply to the Non Jew or Gentile. However in the case of the Jews, they do not have their temple today and are therefore not able to practice a significant portion of the Ceremonial laws, food and washing laws aside. They are not able to practice many of the ceremonial laws. In regard to the Civil law, the laws of each country would override and or replace many of the Civil laws.

We could explore this more but the real question is whether the Old Covenant laws apply to New Testament Christians be they Jew or Gentile.

Mega Church Pastor Andy Stanley

Andy Stanley, author of the new book Irresistible and pastor of North Point Community Church in Georgia, asserts in a new column for Relevant that Jesus’ commandment in (“love one another”) replaced the Ten Commandments and old covenant.

“Jesus didn’t issue his new command as an additional commandment to the existing list of commands,” Stanley wrote.

“The early church moved past the old covenant – why haven’t we?” Stanley asked.

Debates over the public display of the Ten Commandments, he said, are unnecessary.

New Testament view of the Old Testament laws

indicates that unless Heaven and Earth pass away, which it hasn’t, then nothing will pass from the law. This implies the law is still valid. But does it hold anything over the Christian?

Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the Law for us. This is something that we could never do. So by faith, we receive His righteousness. Jesus ended the law for those who believe.

(ESV)

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

(ESV)

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

English Standard Version Chapter 10

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

The Food laws were revoked by Jesus

English Standard Version Chapter 7

18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)

(ESV)

18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)

The Old Covenant ceremonial laws could never make a worshipper perfect before God. The blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. These sacrifices were all looking forward to the sacrifice of Jesus. the only sacrifice that could make us clean. So whether the temple still existed today or not, the priestly service would be pointless given the sacrifice of Jesus. . There is no recorded requirement in the New Testament to adhere to the ceremonial laws but rather these old testament laws and requirements all pointed in some way to Jesus the ultimate sacrifice and High Priest.

So what laws do apply to the Christian?

Jesus defined the greatest commandment in to love God and love your neighbour which is stated as the summary of the Law. It is clear from this and other scriptures that this law of love applies to us today and no one would question this. In stating this , it does not extrapolate out to mean that the whole Old testament law still applies to us today. For example, Jesus already qualified out the food laws in So what does it mean?

indicates that the law of loving your neighbor is pointing to the moral law and it is therefore clear we should keep these laws by definition of keeping the law of loving our neighbours.

English Standard Version Chapter 13

9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

(ESV)

9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

This is reinforced by

English Standard Version Chapter 6

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

(ESV)

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,

And who could forget the story of Ananais and Sopphira who were killed by God for lying as recorded in . God was clearly making a statement that the NT believer was still required to obey the moral laws.

Nailed to the cross

Many people point to to indicate the end of the Law and that the law was nailed to the cross:

(ESV)

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

However, read the verse again and ask what is nailed to the cross. It is the record of debt, the charges, the failure to keep the law that is nailed to the cross. Not the law itself.

So Pastor Andy Stanley could stand as a false teacher.

The New Covenant.

In one sense, Pastor Andy Stanley is correct that the Old Covenant is now irrelevant. However we must remember that the same God who gave Moses the Old Covenant laws is the same Jesus that we know. The new covenant is a law written on our hearts

However we must remember that the same God who gave Moses the Old Covenant laws is the same Jesus that we know. The new covenant is a law written on our hearts

(ESV)

33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

So even though the Law has changed (), would we not think that at least the same moral laws would be written on our hearts by the same God. The bible clearly expects that if we are truly saved and have God’s Spirit with in us, then we will naturally be on a path to adhere to these laws. It is incomprehensible that someone could call themselves a Christian, and then murder someone and state that the the commandment to not murder does not apply. that would indicate that the person is not actually saved at all.

Would we not think that at least the same moral laws would be written on our hearts. The bible clearly expects that if we are truly saved and have God’s Spirit with in us, then we will naturally be on a path to adhere to these laws. It is incomprehsible that someone could call themselves a Christian, and then murder someone and state that the the commandment to not murder does not apply.

It is this point that Pastor Andy Stanley misses

Jerusalem Council

records a meeting of the Apostles and church leaders to determine what laws applied to Gentile Christians. This meeting was largely triggered by those who were pushing the Gentile Christian males to be circumcised. They laid out several requirements

(ESV)

28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

English Standard Version Chapter 15

28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

Abstain from consuming food scarified to idols, blood, strangled animals

28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” Abstain from consuming food scarified to idols, blood, strangled animals

Abstain from sexual immorality

One could ask if this is all that the New Testament Christian has to comply with but it is clear that there is more from the prior references and this was primarily aimed at challenging the requirements of the circumcision groups. It is also written in the context of ensuring that Christians present themselves in such a way so as not to unreasonably provoke the Jewish Community. After all - -13-15 is clear that the issue of eating meat offered to idols was more a question of not causing a brother or sister to be grieved. So the Jerusalem council on one sense reinforces the idea that the Old Covenant does not apply because it does not cover many topics including that of the Sabbath.

One could ask if this is all that the New Testament Christian has to comply with but it is clear that there is more from the prior references and this was primarily aimed at challenging the requirements of the circumcision groups. We have already seen the expectation that the Christian would comply with the moral law.

The Sabbath

One could ask if this is all that the New Testament Christian has to comply with but it is clear that there is more from the prior references and this was primarily aimed at challenging the requirements of the circumcision groups.

So some people ask about the Sabbath. The absence of a reference to the Sabbath in is a glaring and therefore intentional omission.

The Sabbath was not just a day of worship but a day of doing no work. Exodus 20:8-11

(ESV)

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.

Paul indicates that the specific day of the week is not important but but the person’s own view of the day. Note the string point that “Each” person should work it out for themselves.

(ESV)

5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

So you could identify any or all days as a Sabbath? How is that?

Hebrews is a book written to Jewish Christians and the Sabbath issue was important to them.:

(ESV)

9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

This makes an additional important point. We enter God’s Sabbath rest when we come to faith in Jesus Christ.

and indicate the Christians gathered together on the day after the Jewish sabbath. In part this may have been so as not to clash with the Jews.

What you decide between you and God is important and so don’t judge another person for observing the sabbath in a different way than you do.

(ESV)

16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

The Ananias and Sophira story where they were killed by the Holy Spirit for lying indicates that we are no to lie.

Notice the final point there that the substance belongs to Christ.

Appendix

https://carm.org/what-are-the-main-divisions-of-the-old-testament-law

There are three main divisions within the Old Testament law. Following is a categorization. Please note that occasionally the civil and moral laws overlap.

The main differences between the civil, ceremonial, and moral aspects of the Law of Moses as revealed in the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) are in their purposes. The civil law deals mainly with relationships between individuals, the settling of disputes, and the description of proper behavior. The ceremonial law deals with the priesthood initiation and the priestly procedures as they related to the various sacrifices through which the people of the Old Testament were cleansed of there sins. The moral law is based on the character of God and extends from the Old into the New Testament. Therefore, as it was wrong to lie in the Old Testament, it is still wrong to lie in the New Testament.

Civil - Deals with disputes between individuals. Expired with the demise of the

Civil - Deals with disputes between individuals. Expired with the demise of the Jewish civil government

1. Be just with the poor, ()

2. Cattle, of neighbor ()

3. Children, rebellious ()

4. Debt (; )

5. Divorce ()

6. Dress, attire ()

7. Do not hate in your heart ()

8. Inheritance (; ; )

9. Justice practices ()

10. Kidnapping ()

11. Landmarks ()

12. Property redemption ()

13. Murder and killing ()

14. Retain just scales in commerce ()

15. Robbery, extortion, false witness, and restitution ()

16. Sabbath breaking punishment ()

17. Theft (; )

18. Warfare ()

Ceremonial - Expired with the fulfillment of priestly work of Christ ()

1. Cleaning house of leper (; )

2. Festivals (; )

3. Laws on animals for food ()

4. Law of Atonement (;)

5. Offerings ()

6. Priest, consecration of ()

7. Priestly duties ()

8. Regulations for Priests (,)

9. Various sacrificial offerings for sin (,,,,,)

Moral - No Expiration because it is based on God's character. "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy," ()

1. Idolatry ()

2. Love God ()

3. Love your neighbor as yourself ()

4. Oppress your neighbor ()

5. Stealing or lying ()

6. Sacrifice children to Molech forbidden ()

7. Sexual sins: adultery, incest, bestiality, homosexuality, etc. (; ; )

Does the Old Testament Law apply to me?

Does the Old Testament Law apply to the Christian today?