If Christians really believe in the Bible then why don’t they obey all of the Old Testament commandments, and what does it mean when Scripture says that Yeshua fulfilled these laws? In what way(s) did He do so?
(Based on information form Got Questions and Ask Dr. Brown.)
There is often confusion about the role of the Old Testament Law and how it relates to Christians today. Accordingly, it's a good idea to divide the laws in Leviticus into moral, civil and ritual. This is useful in terms of making distinctions from our vantage point, even though this would not have been internal or natural within the Torah itself. Failing to do so, to recognize differences between them, can lead to much folly in terms of how they are regarded, which is why this is so important.
That said, the first mention of the Law to the nation of Israel was as a covenant—a legal agreement between God and the people He chose. The Israelites were required to obey the Law fully if they were to receive its benefits. Though the entire Law encompasses roughly 613 commandments, it began with ten—the first four addressing how a believer is to relate to God, with the other six focusing on interpersonal relations.
Many of the remaining commands gave detailed instruction on how God was to be worshiped and how the people were to live their lives. For example, one purpose of the Law was to point out everyone’s sinfulness, their inability to keep their end of the covenant, to recognize their guilt, and to show them their need for a Savior. It was supposed to produce a consciousness of sin and hold the world accountable to God. In other words, its function was to lead everyone to the Messiah so that they might be justified by faith.
God gave the Law to set a standard of holiness, and at the same time, to show that we could never meet that standard on our own. That’s why Jesus Christ had to come—to fulfill all the righteous requirements of the Law on our behalf, and then to take the punishment of violating that Law, also on our behalf.
God was using the Law to prepare Israel to receive the Messiah and then make Him known to the world. The Law was a means of calling Israel to be separated from the other nations given the fact that if they weren’t separated, they would have been swallowed up with (or by) them. Again, there were various reasons for various laws, and even the Rabbis would say some of them have no rational explanation. Some were simply carried out because God commanded them.
Nonetheless, throughout the history of Israel, God was seeking to communicate truths to the Jews through the Law. For example, when they went to the temple—the holiest place of all—there were articles were made of gold, then some of silver, and others of bronze; reflecting that in the nation as a whole, every individual was in a state of ritual holiness, like a priest, or were clean, or were unclean.
When it came to food, there were some that could be set apart for ritual sacrifice, and some that were considered clean and could be eaten, and others that were deemed unclean and could not be eaten.
Throughout all of this, God was teaching the Israelites certain distinctions and keeping them separate from the other nations. To the extent that people eat together, fellowship together, engage in activities together—whether as families, neighbors or friends—they will often end up falling into sin together. So, certain laws were there to keep Israel separate. Certain laws were there to give them outward concepts of cleanliness so that they could then understand spiritual concepts of cleanliness.
Laws concerning the animal sacrifices were there to teach them concepts such as the penalty of sin, the principle of substitution and the importance of blood, all to prepare Israel to be a priestly nation to whom the Messiah could come, and to help them understand and recognize who He was so that they could then declare that message to the world.
So, in what sense does Yeshua fulfill the law?
Everything having to do with our approach to God—the atonement system, the priesthood, the temple—everything having to do with our approach to God the Messiah fulfills by dying on the cross for our sins, by making us into a spiritual temple, and by being our great High Priest. He brings it to the fullest meaning.
And when it comes to the moral laws, He fulfills them by raising them to a higher standard. Jesus took moral laws to a higher level by applying them to the thoughts and intents of the heart, a perspective that significantly diminishes our ability to keep the Law. For example, He says adultery is not just the physical act, but an act of the heart. Murder is not just a physical act, but an act of the heart. So, He brings them to their fullest meaning.
He fulfilled the ceremonial laws by showing what they were pointing to…that is…dietary laws of separation and commands of this nature. And then the biblical calendar He brings to its fullness and to fulfillment by filling out the meaning of the Sabbath and the Passover, etc. (When He returns He will fill out the meaning of the Fall Feasts.)
Fulfilling the civil law is a little bit different, since the application of civil law was on a national level. The Savior simply imbues each with a deeper meaning, and through that, we now try to live out the principles in our own society.
Ultimately, by living a perfectly righteous life, Christ fulfilled the goal and the object of the Torah so that everyone who will can now receive His righteousness. So then, Christians obey the ritual laws by simply following Jesus. They obey the moral laws just as commanded, but at an even deeper level. And they obey the civil laws by applying the same core principles to whatever society or country they are living in.
(Based on information form Got Questions and Ask Dr. Brown.)
There is often confusion about the role of the Old Testament Law and how it relates to Christians today. Accordingly, it's a good idea to divide the laws in Leviticus into moral, civil and ritual. This is useful in terms of making distinctions from our vantage point, even though this would not have been internal or natural within the Torah itself. Failing to do so, to recognize differences between them, can lead to much folly in terms of how they are regarded, which is why this is so important.
That said, the first mention of the Law to the nation of Israel was as a covenant—a legal agreement between God and the people He chose. The Israelites were required to obey the Law fully if they were to receive its benefits. Though the entire Law encompasses roughly 613 commandments, it began with ten—the first four addressing how a believer is to relate to God, with the other six focusing on interpersonal relations.
Many of the remaining commands gave detailed instruction on how God was to be worshiped and how the people were to live their lives. For example, one purpose of the Law was to point out everyone’s sinfulness, their inability to keep their end of the covenant, to recognize their guilt, and to show them their need for a Savior. It was supposed to produce a consciousness of sin and hold the world accountable to God. In other words, its function was to lead everyone to the Messiah so that they might be justified by faith.
God gave the Law to set a standard of holiness, and at the same time, to show that we could never meet that standard on our own. That’s why Jesus Christ had to come—to fulfill all the righteous requirements of the Law on our behalf, and then to take the punishment of violating that Law, also on our behalf.
God was using the Law to prepare Israel to receive the Messiah and then make Him known to the world. The Law was a means of calling Israel to be separated from the other nations given the fact that if they weren’t separated, they would have been swallowed up with (or by) them. Again, there were various reasons for various laws, and even the Rabbis would say some of them have no rational explanation. Some were simply carried out because God commanded them.
Nonetheless, throughout the history of Israel, God was seeking to communicate truths to the Jews through the Law. For example, when they went to the temple—the holiest place of all—there were articles were made of gold, then some of silver, and others of bronze; reflecting that in the nation as a whole, every individual was in a state of ritual holiness, like a priest, or were clean, or were unclean.
When it came to food, there were some that could be set apart for ritual sacrifice, and some that were considered clean and could be eaten, and others that were deemed unclean and could not be eaten.
Throughout all of this, God was teaching the Israelites certain distinctions and keeping them separate from the other nations. To the extent that people eat together, fellowship together, engage in activities together—whether as families, neighbors or friends—they will often end up falling into sin together. So, certain laws were there to keep Israel separate. Certain laws were there to give them outward concepts of cleanliness so that they could then understand spiritual concepts of cleanliness.
Laws concerning the animal sacrifices were there to teach them concepts such as the penalty of sin, the principle of substitution and the importance of blood, all to prepare Israel to be a priestly nation to whom the Messiah could come, and to help them understand and recognize who He was so that they could then declare that message to the world.
So, in what sense does Yeshua fulfill the law?
Everything having to do with our approach to God—the atonement system, the priesthood, the temple—everything having to do with our approach to God the Messiah fulfills by dying on the cross for our sins, by making us into a spiritual temple, and by being our great High Priest. He brings it to the fullest meaning.
And when it comes to the moral laws, He fulfills them by raising them to a higher standard. Jesus took moral laws to a higher level by applying them to the thoughts and intents of the heart, a perspective that significantly diminishes our ability to keep the Law. For example, He says adultery is not just the physical act, but an act of the heart. Murder is not just a physical act, but an act of the heart. So, He brings them to their fullest meaning.
He fulfilled the ceremonial laws by showing what they were pointing to…that is…dietary laws of separation and commands of this nature. And then the biblical calendar He brings to its fullness and to fulfillment by filling out the meaning of the Sabbath and the Passover, etc. (When He returns He will fill out the meaning of the Fall Feasts.)
Fulfilling the civil law is a little bit different, since the application of civil law was on a national level. The Savior simply imbues each with a deeper meaning, and through that, we now try to live out the principles in our own society.
Ultimately, by living a perfectly righteous life, Christ fulfilled the goal and the object of the Torah so that everyone who will can now receive His righteousness. So then, Christians obey the ritual laws by simply following Jesus. They obey the moral laws just as commanded, but at an even deeper level. And they obey the civil laws by applying the same core principles to whatever society or country they are living in.
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