Question: Is it correct to say that Old Testament laws are valid unless specifically declared obsolete in the New Testament?
Answer: No. For example, God commanded the Israelites to wear tassels: "Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel" (law had a spiritual purpose, clearly stated in verse 39: "You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them." Both the spirit of the law and the letter of this law were commanded.
This command told the Israelites one of the ways in which they should keep the First Commandment. However, this law is obsolete--even though the New Testament says nothing about tassels. The new covenant does not require us to keep the spirit in addition to the letter--the old covenant required both spirit and letter. Rather, in the new covenant we should keep the spirit of the law--a willingness to obey God--but the letter of the law is completely obsolete, for both Jews and gentiles. Abiding by the spirit of the law does not in every case require us to obey the letter (though it certainly does with moral laws regarding theft, murder, adultery, etc.).
God declares the entire old covenant obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). The old law code by itself is no longer in effect. Laws regarding Christian conduct and requirements should be based on the current agreement we have with God, the new covenant.
A good rule of thumb is that the old covenant law is binding on Christians only as it has been transformed by Christ. The Holy Spirit gives us the understanding of that transformation through the New Testament.
Question: Is it correct to say that Old Testament laws are obsolete unless specifically repeated in the New Testament?
Answer: No. It's not quite that simple. An obsolete law code can contain some laws that are still valid. The Old Testament, for example, forbids people from having sexual relations with animals. Although the New Testament does not repeat this particular commandment, Christians should not commit bestiality.
Although the New Testament contains many laws and commandments, it is not intended to be a complete list of laws. It is not a law code. Rather, it focuses on the underlying principles of all correct conduct: faith toward God and love toward others. All New Testament commands are built on that foundation. New Testament commands illustrate how we today, as guided by the Holy Spirit, should base our conduct on the principles of love and faith.
Paul, for example, was inspired to criticize homosexuality as sinful (Romans 1:24-27). It is contrary to God s creative intent and is generally recognized as deviant. Although some segments of society approve of such perversions (verse 32), homosexuality is clearly not the purpose for which God designed our reproductive organs or sexuality itself. The same line of reasoning helps us understand that bestiality is also sinful.
When the New Testament writers prohibited porneia (sexual immorality), both homosexuality and bestiality could be included within the intent of the prohibition of porneia. So the divine instruction against bestiality is still valid. However, its validity isn t based on the old covenant law code, but on the fact that it reflects a proper application of faith and love.
We would conclude that bestiality is wrong even if the old covenant said nothing about it. The Church forbids bestiality--not on the basis of a specific law in the old covenant (which, as a law code, is obsolete) but based on principles of the new. The old provides supporting evidence, but the new provides the authority.
When we see that New Testament commands are based on faith and love, we can also discern when it is appropriate to modify New Testament commands and customs. We are not obligated to give literal kisses simply because Paul commanded his readers to "greet one another with a holy kiss." Modern cultures have different customs for expressing the intent of Paul s command.
These two examples, one discussing an old command that is still valid and the other a new command whose principle should be interpreted culturally, illustrate that we should not view the New Testament as a law book. It gives principles that form the basis of Christian conduct and numerous practical examples of how those principles are applied.
In some cases Christian behavior corresponds to Old Testament law (whether or not that law is specifically repeated in the New), and sometimes Christian behavior contradicts the requirements of the Old Testament (when we ignore various regulations commanded in the Old).
Question: Please explain the spiritual rest pictured by the Sabbath.
Answer: The Sabbath foreshadowed our spiritual rest in Christ. Being united with Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit gives spiritual rest--peace of mind and spiritual help in living a Christian life.
If you go back to Genesis 2, where the seventh day is first mentioned, you may notice that it is not described as a 24-hour day with a morning and an evening like the other days. In its spiritual significance, the Sabbath doesn't have an end. The meaning is that God intended Adam and Eve to be in a harmonious, sinless relationship with him from then on. When they sinned, they were cast out of God's presence. The relationship was broken. They had been cast out of God's rest.
Next, the Sabbath is mentioned in connection with the events leading up to the giving of the old covenant at Sinai. At this point, the Sabbath was commanded to Israel as a day of the week on which the Israelites were to do no work. This Sabbath was a reminder of the creation rest that had been lost and a shadow of Christ and his spiritual work of salvation. Christ is the reality to which the physical Sabbath pointed. Christ is not merely the Lord of one day, but of all time and all things (Colossians 1:15-20). When we are resting in Christ, we are keeping the true Sabbath (spiritual rest) regardless of what time or day it is.
Even when Israel kept the seventh-day Sabbath, they could not enter into God s rest because of their unbelieving hearts (Hebrews 3:7-19). But, Jesus invites us to enter the true rest that the weekly Sabbath foreshadowed (Matthew 11:28-30). When we enter God s true rest, we cease from our own works--living in sin (Hebrews 4:10).
The true rest, then, is the new life in Christ. Through him we have ceased from our futile works of sin, and we now walk in newness of life as new creations in Christ (Romans 6:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:17), created for good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Living in Christ is resting from sin and is living by love. This is what it means to keep the Sabbath in the spirit and from the heart. This is not something done one day a week, but always.
The Bible tells us that our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). In Christ this separation has been taken away (Colossians 2:13-15). We had been like sheep going astray, but now we have been healed by Christ's stripes and are returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (1 Peter 2:24-25). We now have the pledge of a good conscience toward God (1 Peter 3:21). Through the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son have come to dwell in us (John 14:17, 23).
Living in God's rest means having God dwelling in us. We have become a new creation, and our life has become God's life! What a wonderful gift! Is it any wonder that the apostle Paul could say with great joy, "My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge "(Colossians 2:2-3)?
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