Which Old Testament Laws Apply to Christians Today?

By Michael D. Morrison

When Christians read the Old Testament, they are often puzzled. They find many laws that seem to be part of Christianity, and yet they also find many laws that no one obeys. Laws of sacrifice, rituals and civil laws are mixed together with laws that tell people how to get along with others.
How can a Christian know which laws to keep? Does the Bible tell us? This series of Bible studies explores this topic in detail. You will need to look up each of the scriptures you find listed, because we have not taken the space to quote them. But it is worth the time to learn about how we ought to obey our Creator and Savior. We’ll begin with some general principles so that we lay a good foundation for discussing specific laws later in this study.
First, we will establish from Scripture that Christians are expected to obey God. Then we will look at God’s laws — starting in the time before Moses, then a closer look at the covenant made at Mt. Sinai. We will see how Jesus, Paul and the early church deal with the difference between old and new, then explore that difference with a few examples of laws that almost all Christians agree are obsolete.
We then apply those principles to the seven annual Sabbaths, dietary laws, and the weekly Sabbath. We close by noting some of the commands the New Testament gives us, and end by emphasizing that, although Christians should obey God, our salvation is received on the basis of faith, not on the basis of our obedience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Grace Communion International
• Release date: Jan 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311807526

Michael D. Morrison

I grew up in a small town in southern Illinois: Sparta. Our family of seven was religious but did not go to church - instead, we had a Bible study at home every week. I eventually began attending a church after I moved away, and then I went to a Bible college, and eventually a seminary. Now I work for Grace Communion Seminary, an online seminary based in Glendora, California. My interests are the Gospels, the epistles and theology of Paul, and ethics.

Book preview

Which Old Testament Laws Apply to Christians Today?

by Michael D. Morrison

Copyright 2014 Michael Morrison

Published by Grace Communion International

Cover image: public domain

Table of Contents

Introduction

Foreword

Christians Obey God

Old Testament Laws Before Moses

Moses and the Old Covenant

Jesus and the New Covenant

The Early Church and the Laws of Moses

Paul and the Old Covenant

A Few Examples of Obsolete Laws

Seven Annual Sabbaths

Dietary Laws and Uncleanness

Jesus and the Old Covenant Laws

The Weekly Sabbath — Jesus’ Example

The Sabbath in Acts and the Epistles

New Covenant Commands

Salvation by Grace

About the Author

About the Publisher

Grace Communion Seminary

Ambassador College of Christian Ministry

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Introduction

When Christians read the Old Testament, they are often puzzled. They find many laws that seem to be part of Christianity, and yet they also find many laws that no one obeys. Laws of sacrifice, rituals and civil laws are mixed together with laws that tell people how to get along with others.

How can a Christian know which laws to keep? Does the Bible tell us? This series of Bible studies explores this topic in detail. You will need to look up each of the scriptures you find listed, because we have not taken the space to quote them. But it is worth the time to learn about how we ought to obey our Creator and Savior. We’ll begin with some general principles so that we lay a good foundation for discussing specific laws later in this study.

First, we will establish from Scripture that Christians are expected to obey God. Then we will look at God’s laws — starting in the time before Moses, then a closer look at the covenant made at Mt. Sinai. We will see how Jesus, Paul and the early church deal with the difference between old and new, then explore that difference with a few examples of laws that almost all Christians agree are obsolete.

We then apply those principles to the seven annual Sabbaths, dietary laws, and the weekly Sabbath. We close by noting some of the commands the New Testament gives us, and end by emphasizing that, although Christians should obey God, our salvation is received on the basis of faith, not on the basis of our obedience.

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Foreword

Many booklets and articles are published each year about the weekly Sabbath, the annual festivals and Old Testament dietary laws. Unfortunately, most of this literature does not take into account the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant.

The people who write this literature are usually eager to keep God’s law, but they rarely understand which laws were given to Christians and which were not. In some cases, they are concerned about sabbatical years, hybrid animals, hybrid seeds, mixed fabrics and other peripheral issues. They try to determine whether certain laws were ceremonial, civil, moral, economic or for health. They also struggle to understand and explain various New Testament verses that seemed to contradict their conclusions.

Through it all, they rarely attempt to deal with the concept of covenants, even though this is the framework in which God gave his laws to ancient Israel. Often, they act as if they were still under the old covenant. Some acknowledge that the old covenant had ended and that Christians should live by the principles of the new covenant, but they still do not clarify how to tell which old covenant laws are also in the new covenant.

Many Bible-believing people have found it difficult to reconcile biblical laws with Christian practice. They struggle with the tension between Old Testament law and the New Testament emphasis on grace. They struggle with the interpretation of certain verses.

This series of studies is published with the hope and prayer that it will help everyone who wants to understand this subject better. We believe that our studies on this subject have helped us ask the right questions, and to examine the foundation and framework of God’s laws. We believe that this approach will help many people understand which Old Testament laws apply to Christians today regardless of whether they have ever kept any of these laws.

Equally sincere Christians sometimes come to different conclusions on these matters. Thankfully, our salvation does not depend on us having a perfect understanding of these laws. We should not condemn those who understand them differently. But it is helpful for us to understand how conclusions are drawn from the biblical revelation. This series of studies will help Christians not only in their relationship with God but also with one another as we all strive to respond with love to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be all praise and allegiance.

Joseph Tkach

President

Grace Communion International

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Christians Obey God

1. What did Jesus tell his disciples to preach? Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47.

Jesus told his disciples to preach the gospel throughout the world. This gospel focuses on repentance, forgiveness of sins and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Those who believe the gospel turn toward God in faith, their sins are forgiven and they will be saved.

Belief and repentance go together, because people who believe also change their attitudes toward God, and this results in changes in the way they live. The belief or faith is the internal state of mind; repentance shows the results.

Those who believe the gospel have faith in Jesus Christ. They not only believe he exists and is the Son of God, they also believe he died on the cross to pay for their sins. They trust him for their salvation, and they willingly serve him throughout their lives.

Those who believe the gospel should be baptized, and as Matthew 28 indicates, they should be taught to obey everything Jesus commanded.

2. How did Jesus emphasize the importance of obeying him as Lord and Master? Matthew 7:24; Luke 6:46-48; John 14:23; 15:14.

Jesus insists that we must put his words into practice. If we call him Lord, we ought to obey him, because a Lord is not only a protector, but is also someone who has the authority to tell us what to do. If we love him, we will do what he tells us. We trust that his instructions are for our own good.

3. Which commandment did Jesus emphasize most? Matthew 22:36-40; John 13:34-35; 15:17; 1 John 3:21-24. But does love do away with the need to obey our Savior? John 14:15; 1 John 3:18; 5:2-3; 2 John 6.

Love summarizes the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12; Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14). Everything the Bible says about good behavior is built on that foundation. Even our love for God is expressed largely by the way we treat one another (Matthew 25:37-40; Hebrews 6:10; 1 John 4:11-12, 20-21). But love is not an excuse to ignore the other commands that our Lord has given