Thesis 12/36: Relation of Old Testament Law to the Christian

DOCTRINES OF FAITH
Doctrine 12 / 36: Relation of the Old Testament Law to the Christian

"Thou shalt not" is the phrase most recognizable as being a part of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20, were just the beginning of a much greater set of commandments that God gave to His people. A sampling of these many commandments given are: no murder (Exodus 20:13); no stealing (Exodus 20:15); no homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22); adulterers are to be put to death (Leviticus 20:9); the land is to rest and not be sowed every seventh year (Leviticus 25:4); anyone that curses father or mother is to be put to death. On top of these types of commandments there were restrictions placed on the kinds of food people could eat, the types and frequencies of animal sacrifices that needed to be offered, and other restrictions and commandments.

There are a couple of different trains of thought as to what application these commandments in the Old Testament have for the New Testament believer. There is an antinomian understanding, a traditional division of the laws, a position in which the New Testament changes some of the laws, and what I believe to be the most consistently biblical, the position in which the New Testament law replaces the Old Testament law, yet the Old Testament contains principles that need to be learned.

The antinomian position is based upon verses such as Galatians 2:21: "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain"; and also Romans 6:14: "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." The antinomian position teaches that Christ has freed mankind from being bound to the law. It teaches that a person now simply puts their faith in Christ, and he is then free to live in whatever manner he sees fit. He is no longer under the law, so there is nothing he can do that would be sin. The problem with this position is that Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). I John 2:4 makes it even stronger when John writes, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." If God has totally removed the Christian from being under any law to God, then these verses are meaningless.

The traditional position of this subject divides all of the laws of the Old Testament into three distinct categories. There are the civil laws, the ceremonial laws, and the moral laws. The civil laws were laws that God gave to the children of Israel to help them govern themselves. Included in the civil laws would be those that determine the penalty for certain crimes. The ceremonial laws were those laws that had to do with the religious ceremony of the Old Covenant. These laws would include the animal sacrifices, and the special feasts of Israel where all Jewish men had to go to Jerusalem three times in a year. According to this position, the civil and ceremonial laws were done away with Christ when the veil rent in the temple at His death, and He became the ultimate sacrifice. The third division of Old Testament laws are the moral laws. The moral laws are those laws that transcend all of time, and would include the Ten Commandments. The major problem with the idea of the three divisions of laws is that the Bible does not divide them. That is, the Bible never distinguishes certain laws of the Old Testament as being civil laws, yet to violate them is not immoral. It never says that certain of the laws are ceremonial versus civil, etc. Man's tradition and reason has attempted to break up all of the law into these groups, and therefore they are not God's divisions.

The third position which could be taken is that of accepting the entire Old Testament law as it is, and only replacing or updating those laws which have been explicitly changed in the New Testament. For example, 1 Corinthians 5:7 declares that Christ is the Passover. Therefore, the laws for the Passover feasts are no longer laws that need to be followed by believers. Acts 10, when Peter is told to eat of the animals on the sheet, which God in the Old Testament demanded them not to eat, is another example of laws that were overturned. When a law has not been overturned from the Old Testament, then it still stand in full force. Those who claim to believe this doctrine end up being inconsistent to some degree in their application of it. For example, many of the so-called civil laws of the Old Testament were never overturned. Therefore, any of those that hold this belief, ought to stone their child if he becomes rebellious; they are to stone a child if he curses mother or father. And even the mixing of materials in clothing is a law that has not been overturned.

The correct understanding of the role of the Old Testament law for the Christian is that the Old Testament teaches the Christian about the character and nature of God, and how important holiness needs to be for God's people. It can help define some of the meanings of things, or principles which should be followed. However, the commands of the Old Testament were just that, commands given under a covenant which God made with Israel. A Christian is not without law, as all of the commandments that Jesus gave for His church, and all of the commandments in the Epistles during the Church Age, were commandments given for the believer. A Christian is not antinomian, however as those verses in Galatians and Romans clarified, the Christian is not under the Old Covenant's laws. The laws in the Old Testament can demonstrate God's expectations. For example, 1 Corinthians 6:9 says that fornicators shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This is a New Testament command to abstain from fornication. However, in the Old Testament, specifically Leviticus 18, God states what His standards are for fornication. It includes homosexuality, bestiality, incest, etc. The Christian is not obligated to obey those laws because they are found in Leviticus, but because they are found in the New Testament. The Old Testament was "written for our learning" (Romans 15:4), but that does not mean that they are laws still binding for the Christian.

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."