The Old Testament Law Today

What is the relationship of the New Testament believer to the Old Testament law? This question has been debated since the days of the apostles, when the Jerusalem council addressed whether Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses (Acts 15). The answer has profound implications for how we live, how we worship, and how we interpret the Old Testament. Some Christians argue that the entire Mosaic Law is still binding upon believers today — that we should observe the Sabbath, keep the dietary laws, and celebrate the Jewish festivals. Others argue that the law has been entirely abolished and has no relevance whatsoever for the Christian. Both positions miss the nuance of Scripture. Paul writes that "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Romans 10:4). The word "end" (telos) can mean "termination" or "goal" — Christ is both the goal toward which the law pointed and the termination of the law as a system of righteousness. Jesus Himself declared, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil" (Matthew 5:17). The law is not destroyed — it is fulfilled. A prophecy is not destroyed when it comes to pass; it is fulfilled. A shadow is not destroyed when the substance arrives; it is fulfilled. The law was a shadow of good things to come (Hebrews 10:1), and Christ is the substance that casts the shadow. Understanding the law's purpose, its divisions, and its fulfilment in Christ is essential for sound hermeneutics. Without this understanding, the Christian will either bind himself to obligations that Christ has fulfilled, or he will dismiss vast portions of the Old Testament as irrelevant — both errors with serious consequences.

Theologians have historically recognized three categories within the Mosaic Law: moral, civil, and ceremonial. While the law itself does not explicitly label its commands in these categories, the distinction is evident from the nature and function of the various commandments. The moral law is summarized in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and expresses the eternal, unchanging character of God. It defines what is inherently right and wrong — not merely what was forbidden for Israel, but what is always and everywhere sinful. Murder, theft, adultery, false witness, covetousness, and idolatry are wrong in every culture, every dispensation, and every era. The moral law reflects God's nature and cannot be repealed any more than God's nature can change. The civil law governed the social, economic, and political life of the theocratic nation of Israel. It prescribed penalties for crimes (Exodus 21-22), regulated property rights, addressed slavery, established procedures for judicial disputes, and provided for the poor. These laws were tailored to the specific situation of ancient Israel as a theocratic state under God's direct rule. When Israel ceased to exist as a theocratic nation, the civil laws ceased to be directly applicable — though the principles of justice they embody remain instructive. The ceremonial law governed Israel's worship — the tabernacle, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the feasts, the dietary restrictions, and the purity regulations. These laws were inherently temporary, designed to point forward to Christ and His work. The Levitical sacrifices pointed to the Lamb of God. The priesthood pointed to the Great High Priest. The tabernacle pointed to God dwelling with man. When the reality came, the shadow was no longer needed. The writer of Hebrews says explicitly: "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13).

Why did God give the law? Paul answers this question in several places, and each answer reveals a different facet of the law's divinely intended purpose. First, the law reveals sin. "I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet" (Romans 7:7). The law functions as a mirror (James 1:23-25) — it shows us what we are. Without the law's clear standard, sin would remain unrecognized. The law does not create sin; it exposes it. It takes the vague sense of moral failure and gives it a specific name and a specific standard against which it can be measured. Second, the law increases sin — not by encouraging it, but by provoking the rebellious nature. Paul writes, "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound" (Romans 5:20). The forbidden fruit is always the most attractive. Tell a child not to touch something, and the desire to touch it intensifies. The law, by defining what is forbidden, provokes the fallen nature to desire precisely what is prohibited. This is not a defect in the law — it is a design feature that demonstrates the depth of human depravity. Third, the law leads to Christ. "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24). The Greek word paidagogos referred to the household servant who supervised a child and escorted him to school. The law supervised Israel during its spiritual childhood, restraining behavior and preparing the nation for the coming of Christ. Once the schoolmaster's purpose is fulfilled, the student is no longer under the schoolmaster's direct authority. Fourth, the law reveals the character of God. The law is "holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good" (Romans 7:12). It reflects God's holiness, His justice, and His concern for the well-being of His creatures. Even the ceremonial regulations — the dietary laws, the purity codes, the sacrificial system — reveal something about God's nature: His holiness demands separation from defilement, and His grace provides a way of atonement.

Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the entire Mosaic Law. He fulfilled the moral law by living a life of perfect obedience — He never transgressed a single commandment, in thought, word, or deed. He fulfilled the ceremonial law by providing the reality to which all the ceremonies pointed — He is the true Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), the true High Priest (Hebrews 4:14), the true tabernacle (John 1:14), and the once-for-all sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:10). He fulfilled the civil law by establishing a kingdom of righteousness that transcends any earthly theocracy. Because Christ has fulfilled the law, believers are no longer "under the law" as a covenant system. Paul states emphatically: "Ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14). Again: "But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law" (Galatians 5:18). And again: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). The law's penalty has been paid, its demands have been satisfied, and its authority as a governing covenant has been superseded by the new covenant in Christ's blood. This does not mean the law is useless. Paul insists, "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid" (Galatians 3:21). The law remains profitable for teaching, for revealing God's character, and for exposing sin. It is "good, if a man use it lawfully" (1 Timothy 1:8). What the law cannot do is justify — it cannot make a sinner righteous before God. That was never its purpose. The law diagnoses the disease; Christ provides the cure. The believer's relationship to God is no longer governed by the Mosaic covenant but by the new covenant, mediated by Christ and empowered by the Spirit. The new covenant does not lower the moral standard — it raises it. Jesus intensified the law's demands in the Sermon on the Mount, extending the prohibition of murder to anger and the prohibition of adultery to lust (Matthew 5:21-28). But the new covenant provides what the old could not: the internal power to obey. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son... condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:3-4).

While the believer is not under the Mosaic covenant, the moral principles of the law remain fully authoritative because they reflect the eternal character of God. Nine of the Ten Commandments are explicitly restated in the New Testament (the Sabbath command is the exception, being the only one rooted in the ceremonial calendar rather than in the moral nature of God). Paul summarizes the continuing authority of the moral law: "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Romans 13:8-9). The believer obeys the moral law not as a means of earning righteousness but as an expression of love and gratitude. "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Obedience is the fruit of love, not the root of salvation. We do not keep the law to be saved; we keep it because we are saved. The motivation has changed from fear to love, from duty to delight, from the letter that kills to the Spirit that gives life. The Christian is under what Paul calls "the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2) — a term that encompasses the moral teachings of Christ and the apostles, empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is not lawlessness — it is a higher law, written not on tablets of stone but on the heart. Jeremiah prophesied of this new arrangement: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33). The practical result is freedom — not freedom to sin, but freedom from the condemning, enslaving power of the law. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1). The believer is free from the law's curse, free from the law's ceremonies, and free from the law's condemnation — but never free from the obligation to love God with all the heart and to love the neighbour as oneself. The moral law, fulfilled in love, remains the Christian's eternal standard.

How should the modern Bible reader approach the laws of the Old Testament? Several practical principles emerge from the theological framework outlined in this lesson. First, determine the category. Is the command moral, civil, or ceremonial? If moral, the principle is directly applicable because it reflects God's unchanging character. If civil, the specific regulation applied to Israel's theocratic context, but the underlying principle of justice may be instructive. If ceremonial, the regulation has been fulfilled in Christ and is no longer binding, though the spiritual reality it foreshadowed is profoundly relevant. Second, ask what the law reveals about God. Even the most obscure ceremonial regulation teaches something about God's holiness, His attention to detail, His hatred of sin, or His gracious provision for atonement. The dietary laws taught Israel the principle of separation — being distinct from the nations. The purity regulations taught that God cannot be approached casually — holiness matters. The sacrificial system taught that sin requires the shedding of blood — without which there is no remission (Hebrews 9:22). Third, look for the New Testament commentary. The New Testament frequently interprets Old Testament law for the church. Paul explains why Christians are not bound by the dietary laws (Romans 14, Colossians 2:16-17). Hebrews explains why the Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system are obsolete (Hebrews 7-10). The Jerusalem council ruled that Gentile believers need not be circumcised or keep the law of Moses (Acts 15:28-29). These New Testament interpretations are authoritative guides for the Christian's relationship to the Old Testament law. Fourth, always interpret the law through the lens of Christ. He is the key that unlocks every part of Scripture. The Passover lamb points to Christ. The Day of Atonement points to Christ. The tabernacle points to Christ. The priesthood points to Christ. When we read the law through the lens of its fulfilment, it ceases to be a dry code of ancient regulations and becomes a rich, multi-layered testimony to the person and work of the Redeemer. "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Galatians 5:14). Love — the love of Christ, shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit — is the fulfilling of the law.