HOW DOES THE OLD TESTAMENT APPLY TO THE LIFE OF A CHRIST FOLLOWER TODAY? - Part 2

Part 2 of a 3 part post:

Now we’re ready to develop three principles that will help us answer the question we’ve posed: 1.     If there is an Old Testament Law that is restated in the New Testament, then it is still binding and valid Most of the moral law fits in this category. In fact, we’ll see this next week as Jesus begins to take several of the Ten Commandments and expand upon them in order to help His audience understand the spirit of the Law as well as the letter of the Law.  I don’t think anyone would really argue with this first principle. Even those who want to completely ignore the Old Testament would be okay with this. So we don’t need to spend any more time here. 2.     If there is an Old Testament Law that is set aside in the New Testament, it is no longer binding This principle is best demonstrated by the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. Some in the church were teaching that a person could not become a Christ follower unless they first became a Jew and observed the command to be circumcised. At the leading of Peter, Barnabas, Paul and James – all of them Jews – the decision that was reached is that it was not necessary to follow the Biblical command to be circumcised. However, the council did not completely dismiss the need to follow other Old Testament laws that dealt with idols, sexual immorality and eating the blood of animals. Most of the ceremonial law fits into this category. That makes sense since Jesus completely fulfilled that aspect of the law through His sacrificial death on the cross. 

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near…When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.Hebrews 10:1, 8-10 (ESV) When the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, it is as if God further emphasized the fact that Jesus completely fulfilled these ceremonial laws since it is no longer possible for the people to make sacrifices. Another area where this principle applies is most of the dietary laws that were set aside by both the words of Jesus as well as by the word of God in Acts and in other New Testament writings. Again, no one will really argue this principle at all. In fact, those who want to ignore the Old Testament really like this one. But that leaves us with the most difficult task of all – how do we deal with those parts of the Law that aren’t specifically mentioned in the New Testament. And there are obviously a lot of them. 3.     If there is an Old Testament Law that is not specifically mentioned in the New Testament, then apply this process:
 

• Identify general principles

• See if the principle is confirmed in the New Testament

• Apply the principle to the specific situation

God gave the Old Testament Law to His people for their own good. For instance, the dietary laws were intended to prevent them from becoming sick from food-borne illnesses. Many of the social laws were designed to protect people’s dignity – especially women, the poor, slaves, widows and others who were often in positions where they were unable to protect themselves. The ceremonial laws were given as a way for the people to deal with their sin before God. So as we look at those laws, we need to determine the underlying principle that gives rise to that command. 
Once we’ve identified the principle behind the specific law, we can then go to the New Testament and see if that same principle is given to us there. Since the entire Bible is consistent from cover to cover, we’re going to find that in almost every case, even if the specific Old Testament Law is not addressed in the New Testament, the underlying principles behind the law will be confirmed in some way there. 
Having identified the underlying principle, we can now take that principle, rather than the specific law itself, and apply it to whatever situation we might be dealing with in our lives.

Tomorrow I'll finish off this post with a practical example of how to do this.