This blog is a Facebook debate regarding the purpose for the Old Testment law and why it was given etc.....I hope you find it interesting. :)
Romans unpacks this the best, so go read Romans if you have any questions on any of this. :) And I am planning to blog through all of Romans eventually and will unpack my understanding of everything in that amazing, meaty, intense book of the Bible lol. May God give you eyes to see and ears to hear Him! :)
Friend: "Jesus fulfilled the laws of the OT and brought a new covenant. Do we still follow the laws of eating? Of sacrifices?"
My answer: "Yes the law does not matter as much in light of Jesus because He said all things hinge on the two commandments love God and love others. He simplified it.
And Paul said, "ALL things are permissible for me but I will not be mastered by anything." So we can do anything we want under Jesus essentially, just not be mastered by anything or make anything an idol. Jesus fulfilled the law but He did not eradicate it.
The law is still in our Bibles today for a reason. God still wants us to know it and try to live by it. David said, "Oh how I love your law! I meditate on it day and night!"
Other Friend: "The law is still in our Bibles today for a reason. God still wants us to know it and try to live by it. David said, 'Oh how I love your law! I meditate on it day and night!'" - I'm sorry to say that this is taken out of context. The Law is not in our Bibles for us to know it and try to live by it.
The Law is composed of moral laws and ceremonial laws. The Law was given by Moses to the Israelites for God to show the Israelites what sin is and for God to foreshadow to them what Jesus's atonement of sin was going to be. The Law is composed moral laws and ceremonial laws.
Example of Moral law includes the Ten Commandments. Example of Ceremonial Laws include guilt offering, sin offering, and fellowship offering. These were all given to show what sin is and to show that in and of ourselves, with the sin nature inherent in us, we have a hard time to as you said "...Know it and Try to live by it..." we need Jesus.
That's why the ceremonial laws were given to show the Israelites what a guilt offering is and what a sin offering is. The Law contains the heart of God on what purity and righteous living is before him. But it's not a conduct list.
It is just God showing us we fall short of his Holiness.
We can conduct ourselves to follow it. Jesus himself said ""If you love me, you will obey what I command." -John 14:15.
We follow the commands to be within the protection of God's wisdom not because, "We have to know it and try to live by it."
My Answer: "Romans 2:12-13 says, "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.)
Also James 2:14-18, " What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.""Works" are us trying to live by the laws.
"Honor your mother and father" is still important is it not? Even though Jesus came we are still to respect our elders.
No one would deny that it is good to not steal or murder etc.
So why not try our best to live up to all the laws? Not in a legalistic way but because we are to "walk in a manner worthy of our calling" as Paul says.
Therefore our lives should be a testimony.
We are to live relatively holy, set apart lives, as holy as we can and is possible in this life.
We have the Holy Spirit's help to do so.
So yes, we do need to know it and try to live by it.
There is "therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" so we do not try to live by the law to save ourselves because we are saved by grace. We try to live by the law because we LOVE God and WANT to obey Him. Not because we have to, but because we want to.
That is the difference between the old and the new covenant.
So what do you think? It is a complex topic to be sure.
Romans 3:21 also says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
Now we are actually capable of doing what those in the Old Testament were not able to do because they did not have the Holy Spirit inside of them. We are freed from slavery to sin. We have the power inside of us that raised Jesus from the dead. So that even more so we can now live by the law. Jesus said, "You shall know them by their fruit."
Do you believe it? Do you live like it?
May God empower us to live as his children and to reflect his holiness as best as we can. Grace and peace to you! :)
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