SHOULD CHRISTIANS FOLLOW OLD TESTAMENT LAW?
“Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.” “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.” “Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.” “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” “Do not put tattoo marks on yourselves.”
While I do not have any tattoos, I do enjoy eating shrimp tacos, a steak cooked medium-well, I wear T-shirts made of a cotton and polyester blend, and I regularly cut my sideburns. Does this make me a bad Christian? Most Christians I know blow through many of these laws every day. In fact, most Jewish people do as well. How do we know which Old Testament Laws to follow and which ones we can forgo?
Ceremonial Law
The laws mentioned above fall into what theologians call the Ceremonial Law. The Ceremonial Law is made up of hundreds of laws pertaining to instructions on regaining right standing with God (Sacrificial Law), remembrances of God’s work in Israel (feasts and festivals), and laws to differentiate the Israelites from their pagan neighbors (Dietary Law and clothing restrictions).
The Ceremonial Law was not given for morality purposes, but simply to a) set ancient Israel apart from the rest of the nations around it, b) to remember what God had done for them, and c) to point to the coming Messiah. None of the Ceremonial Laws are repeated in the New Testament for the church to follow. In fact, many of these are abolished in the New Testament: Dietary Laws (Acts 10:9-15 or Colossians 2:16), Remembrances, Festivals and the Sabbath (Colossians 2:16) and the Sacrificial Law (Hebrews 10:1-18). Therefore, the Christian is not bound by the Ceremonial Law.
The Sacrificial Law is called a shadow in the New Testament (Hebrews 10:1) and pointed to Jesus and what he accomplished on the cross through his death and resurrection. For a Christian to keep practicing the Sacrificial Law would be blasphemy as it would be trying to nullify the sacrifice of Jesus by works.
While we are no longer bound by the Ceremonial Law, the spirit behind them—to worship, remember, serve and love a holy God, still apply.
Civil Law
The Civil Law (or Judicial Law) applied to daily life in ancient Israel to keep the nation running smoothly in the ancient near east. While some of these laws were moral, you can’t just pick them all up and apply them to today, because modern society & culture are radically different from ancient Israel. For example, Deuteronomy 22:4 says, “If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet.” Another example can be found in Deuteronomy 25:5-6, “If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.” While these laws are admirable, they just wouldn’t be appropriate for society today.
Prior to the Civil Law, man’s idea of right and wrong came from ancient family & tribal customs in which each man did was right in his own eyes. The Civil Law allowed for a higher standard—a higher power, to govern rather than one’s own opinions. The majority of the Civil Law is recorded in Exodus 21 – 23 and Deuteronomy 21 – 25. These chapters discuss matters relating to treatment of workers, land, inheritance, pledges, loans, interest, torts, marriage, divorce, and legal procedure. These laws were intended for ancient Israel—an agricultural, ancient society, and no longer apply to Christians today.
The Moral Law
I’m not going to recite the 10 Commandments to you, but these and laws like them relate to stealing, lying, killing, cheating, and adultery. These laws are directly moral and reveal the heart of God. Therefore, they stand for all time, for all people, including you and me.
Many of the principles of the Moral Law are repeated in the New Testament and thus, are to be adhered to for Christians: Matthew 5:21-22 (murder), Matthew 5:27-29 (adultery), Galatians 5:19-21 (sexual immorality, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, discord, jealousy, rage, envy, drunkenness, orgies), etc. However, those laws you see in the Old Testament that relate to morality and the heart of God are still to be adhered to even if it not specifically repeated in the New Testament: Deuteronomy 24:7 (kidnapping), Deuteronomy 25:13 (cheating), Leviticus 19:16 (slander), etc.
Conclusion
If you are struggling with something and wrestling with, “Is this sin?”; I encourage you to read and study the Bible. If you still have questions, talk to a pastor or Christian counselor to seek help. We all need a moral compass outside of ourselves to determine right from wrong because we are sinful. God’s Moral Law is that compass that guides us along the right path.
I do want to point out that you will not find a breakdown of the Jewish law into different categories in the Old Testament. This is a human construct to help us better understand the nature of God and define which laws we as Christians are to follow today. Christians are not under the law (Ceremonial or Civil) according to Romans 10:4 and Galatians 3:23-25 since Jesus fulfilled the law in his life, death, and resurrection. He fulfilled the law so that in Him, we may be reconciled to God and live our lives for Him.
For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! - Galatians 2:19-21