If you have been around the church for a while, you’ve probably heard about the ‘Ten Commandments’ or the Law that God gave to the Israelites. Introducing these Laws of the Old Testament brought about a great shift in the way people at the time lived their lives. Now, there was a clear line between right and wrong. Now they had to be mindful and self-controlled about every decision they made.
Before the law, there was no set standard. Thus, people lived freely without considering what was moral or what was not. But after the Law was given, there was a clear standard to meet. For us today, it is sometimes asked, why don’t we still follow the laws of the Old Testament? Why don’t we keep the same laws the Israelites did in the past if we follow the same God? Let’s find out.
The Law of the Old Testament
Let’s think about what the laws given to the Israelites included. Many of the rules were as simple as ‘Do not eat this or that, do not murder or harm others’, etc.. They were things that had to do with everyday life, very basic and physical level things.
Why do you think the Israelites had to be told simple things like “Do not covet” or “Do not murder“? Because at that time they needed to be taught to do those things. They had to be trained to be better than that. We need to understand that the moral level and mindset of the people wasn’t yet beyond common and basic.
We see this kind of relationship and these kinds of guidelines with a parent and child. As a child, you must be taught, “Do not hit, do not take things that aren’t yours” because you are young and immature. We know by looking at the past, that the standard of morality was drastically different. Today, we don’t need to be told those things as adults. We know basic rights from wrongs and there is a higher moral standard in modern times. Therefore, we inherently keep many of the Laws that the Israelites were given.
The Purpose of The Law
God gave the Israelites the Law of the Old Testament to create a clear standard to distinguish right from wrong and then act in accordance to it. In short, to guide them to be holy and to be set apart, so that other nations could also eventually learn from them.
But the question is, were the people able to keep all of the decrees? Unfortunately, they did not and could not. They continuously broke the law and had to continuously sacrifice animals to atone for the sins that were committed by breaking the Law. What can we understand from this?
Thinking in a deeper context about the whole point of God giving the decrees and the people breaking it, were the laws achievable in the first place? Actually, God’s intent was to make the Israelites realise they were sinners.
“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”
Romans 3:20
Spiritual Level: Following the Law when Jesus Came
By the time Jesus came to the earth, people were more morally advanced and intellectual than those of the past. Keeping the Laws of the Old Testament had become tradition – commonplace, expected, natural. So, Jesus raised the standard to a more mental and spiritual level. Now the standard included even getting angry or despising someone in one’s heart was considered a sin. Jesus equated hating someone in one’s heart to murder (Matthew 5:21-22).
Wouldn’t that mean one needs to be holy not only on the outside, but on the inside as well? With Jesus upping the standard, people were expected to keep the physical laws and behave well, as well as controlling their thoughts, and to focus more on the unseen, the spiritual matters.
For us now, we think that it’s normal to hold our thoughts accountable. But at some point, that standard had to be set, and it was Jesus who raised the bar to that level. He made a new standard for a moral life and salvation.
How About Us? Should We Adhere to the Laws of the Old Testament?
If we think about it, we’re already keeping most of the Laws of the Old Testament without putting much thought into it. In olden days, the Israelites constantly needed to be trained how to be holy. Today, we have the ability to discern right from wrong on a much greater level. Our conscience tells us that behaving in certain immoral ways are inappropriate.
In a way, we can act more freely since we have greater self-control. Nevertheless, not being bound by physical laws by no means makes it any easier. And we also have a new law and standard to follow in order to receive salvation: believing and having faith in Jesus Christ and his teachings.
But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through the faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Romans 3:21-22, 31
Let us not forget, we now live under the premise of a new standard. The question is, how then can we be spiritually holy? Through God’s Word (John 17:17), and more specifically, Jesus’s teachings and prophecies.
The Word cleanses our inner being and makes us presentable to God. And if we know the promises given in the Word, we will be able to prepare for them and keep them, therefore meeting the standard that was set by Jesus.
Mindset and Goal as Believers in Christ
Looking at past accounts, we now come to the realisation that law’s purpose is to make us aware of our sinful nature. And no matter what, we cannot be declared righteous by just keeping the Law (Romans 3:20).
If we look at it in steps, the Laws of the Old Testament were given to help train people in righteousness and also make them conscious that they were sinners in need of a savior. The next step was Jesus, the savior coming and giving God’s true plan to salvation – not through keeping the law, but by believing in Jesus and following his teachings.
It went from very basic and physical standards, to deeper and spiritual standards. Although it’s not always easy, it is not unattainable.
Remember, the standard of salvation for our time is different from the time of the Old Testament. We need to be righteous, physically, mentally, and spiritually. If it means the salvation of our spirits, shouldn’t we be willing to do anything and everything?
Let us sincerely ask ourselves this question and make our minds up to rise to the expectation and standard set by God and Jesus.
Written by Your Soul and Heaven
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