How Should Christians Relate to the Old Testament?

In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions and readers of The Berean Call.Here’s this week’s question:Dear Tom and Dave, I am a relatively new Christian and I want to do the things that please the Lord.However, I’m confused about how I should relate to the Old Testament, especially the laws given to the Jews.I’ve been told by some that all the laws whether moral or ceremonial have value for me as a Christian, and by others that trying to incorporate any of the laws of Moses will lead one to the legalism Paul warned the Galatians about.What do you think?

Tom:

Dave, you know there is a tension here.Earlier we were talking about sanctification, how do we live a life that’s pleasing to the Lord, certainly as we established earlier in the program, it’s not for salvation, he has done that completely, fully and we accept it, we receive it by faith.But on the other hand as we live our lives, there are a lot of rules and regulations some are in the Old Testament, some are moral, some are ceremonial and you find throughout the church that there are some that promote certain teachings, certain rituals, certain ways of going about things and they are drawing upon the Old Testament to promote it.Now, can’t we run into trouble that way?

Dave:

Well Tom, the moral commandments, not to lie, steal, commit murder, commit adultery and so forth, not to lust, those are written in the conscience of every human being.We get that in Romans chapter 2:14, “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature (by nature) the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves:Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another;”So, I can reason with someone anywhere in the world from any culture and any time in history.They know in their conscience that certain things are wrong.Now their conscience can be, the Bible says burned or seared with a hot iron.Their culture can have imposed certain practices upon them, cannibalism or whatever.

Tom:

I think about their gypsies and their tendency, more than tendency, to steal things.

Dave:

They make their living that way.Now of course they can justify themselves by saying, yeah, but these people have more than they need.There are all kinds of ways to rationalize.

Tom:

And searing the conscience.

Dave:

But in the heart—Tom, I’ve talked to too many former Hindus, former Muslims, former this, former that, who said, look, I didn’t believe it, even growing up as a boy or a young woman, I didn’t believe Hinduism or I couldn’t believe Islam, I knew that there was a Creator of this universe, I knew that He was holy and just and I knew that I could not make myself holy before Him having once sinned and that I needed a Savior, somehow someone had to pay the penalty.But let’s go to Psalm:147:19He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
See All..., I think is pretty clear.This is important, Tom, because we have very sincere people out there called Seventh Day Adventists, for example, and they tell us that we should still be keeping the Saturday Sabbath and that it was the Catholics who changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.Now nobody changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, the Sabbath is still Saturday.We don’t keep the Sabbath because the Sabbath pertained to Israel and it also pertained to the old creation.We are part of a new creation and Christ rose from the dead on Sunday, the first born of the new creation and we are new creatures in Christ Jesus.But notice what it says, Psalm:147:19He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
See All..., “He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them.Praise ye the Lord.”Now this is not what is written in the conscience but these are the ceremonial laws, the sacrifices, the levitical system and so forth and the Sabbath.Because I challenge anybody out there—we have some Seventh Day Adventists listening—do you know of anyone who has, “keep the Sabbath,” written in their conscience?No, nobody has, “keep the Sabbath,” written in their conscience.This is not one of the moral laws.

Tom:

Also dietary laws which is a real strong point of the Seventh Day Adventists.

Dave:

Right.This is not given to anyone but the Jews.Let me read it again:“He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.He hath not dealt so with any nation:and as for his judgments, they have not known them.”And Paul makes it very clear in Scripture that it’s not by the deeds of the law that anyone can be justified, that we are not under the law, the Old Testament law; you get that in the book of Galatians.In fact, the whole book of Galatians Paul is concerned.He is concerned about what we call the Judaizers and we read of that in Acts 15.These were men who came from Jerusalem and they went to Antioch, where the first Gentile church was established and they said it’s not enough for you to believe the gospel, you’ve got to be circumcised and keep the law, and Paul said that is not right.And he went to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem and they had it out.They discussed it, so in Chapter 15 of Acts we have a discussion among the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem and they say, no!This is not something that is imposed upon the Gentiles.In fact they say, Why would you put on them a yoke which our forebearers, we are telling our forebearers we are unable to bear.So, the law, Paul says, was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.It shows that we cannot be righteous before God and that we need Christ.But then, by what rule do we live our lives?

Tom:

Again, for sanctification understood biblically, because that was the concern that Paul had in the book of Galatians.It wasn’t just another gospel but they were trying to live out a life pleasing to God in the flesh.

Dave:

Right.We live by a higher law.It’s not really a law in that sense, but is the standard that Christ set and he tells us—well, Peter says that we are to follow his example, and it is Christ in you the hope of glory.He is the one who has now become my life; it’s not I, in my own strength, trying to keep the law but it’s Christ living His life through me and my obedience to Him because of the love that I have for Him as my Savior.