Why is the Old Testament included in the bible if we are no longer under those old laws?

score:15

Paul gives us a pretty good answer to this in his letter to the church in Rome:

"For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." Romans 15:4 NASB

The Old Testament record reveals the character of God in many different ways. In it we see His faithfulness, His justice, His compassion, His holiness and many other things.

We can be encouraged to go to God in prayer, knowing that He has both the power and inclination to act on our behalf--just as we see He did in the Old Testament time and time again.

Additionally, the Old Testament contains many prophecies and pictures of Christ that gives us confidence in the truthfulness of the Gospel and also lets us see the beauty of God's dealings with mankind. Isaiah 53 is an amazing prophecy of the suffering Messiah and the Snake in the Desert beautifully demonstrates the Gospel.

It should be noted that much of the Old Testament is actually not simply laws to follow, but stories of God's interaction with mankind. The Law is contained in the Old Testament, but Genesis, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon and the much of the prophets have little or nothing to do with instructions on the Law.

Narnian 63552

Upvote:-1

Why do you think we are no longer under the law? Jesus said:

Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Luke 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

As far as I can tell from reading my Bible is that that happens:

Revelation 21:1 KJV And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Jesus did not do away with the law:

Matthew 5:17 KJV Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Every time one of us breaks any of the laws Jesus has to pay for it on the cross. The only thing different is that every time you sin Jesus may feel a new pain, the Bible doesn't say that he does, but it also does not say that he doesn't.

BYE 13241

Upvote:-1

I reject the premise of the question -- the Law does still applies to us today, but it applies differently than it did before the coming of the Christ.

As described in the Q&A "Laws in Effect Today":

[T]he entire law is still applicable because the entire law reflects God's unchanging character (compare Matt. 22:37-40). Nevertheless, the way in which we are to obey the law has changed significantly due to the coming of Christ and changes in other historical circumstances.

Compare also Romans 7:12: "So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good." And 1 Timothy 1:8: "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly." The hitch here, of course, is how to use it properly now that the Christ has come, but that's a topic for a different Q&A.

metal 2474

Upvote:1

I once heard an interesting analysis of this.

We are still bound by a portion of the Old Laws - mainly the ones involving morality.

Ancient Israel did not really have the concept of the separation of church and state. So, you had judicial laws/punishments mixed in with morality, mixed in with laws that had to do with ceremonies and cleanliness.

For example, stealing has always been wrong, but societies have punished it differently over the centuries.

Another example: if one also looks at the story where they want to stone the woman for adultery - Jesus condemns the sin of adultery and tells everyone not to stone her, which was the appropriate punishment of the day.

As a result, Jesus kept the basic morality of the OT, but did away with the punishment, for example. The OT provides a lot of the basic groundwork for the NT, such as basic morality - If people were moral there would be no need for punishment.

bigdaveyl 232

Upvote:1

There is a set of laws called Noahide. All humanity is obliged to follow: Noahide laws

The prohibition of Idolatry.

The prohibition of Murder.

The prohibition of Theft.

The prohibition of Sexual immorality.

The prohibition of Blasphemy.

The prohibition of eating flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive.

The requirement of maintaining courts to provide legal recourse.

The Noahide laws comprise the six commandments which were given to Adam in the Garden of Eden, according to the Talmud's interpretation of Gen 2:16,[7] and a seventh precept, which was added after the Flood of Noah. I find the last one gruesome, but I've seen drawings by Spaniards in the conquest of the Americas human animals tethered to a tree having slices of their bodies used for food.

Jesus came to teach the law's true meaning, to go back to those laws. For murder he drew a fence around it by saying it was a sin to be angry. Check the story of Cain and Abel.

The sin of Onan was his greed for his inheritance. Having sex with sheep or horses was sinful because they were not humans. Jesus attempted to put people back on track. To mourn was to groan over sin that one was unable to change, but recognized as sin, which means to miss the mark of good, which is what the purpose of our existence.

We are God's experiment. End game is theosis. We must choose good over evil. That too is a question because doing good can often be evil. Everything is tied into living life well by being good for this is how we were made before the disobedience in the garden.

We humans cannot understand God. He helps us along through condescension. There is a Greek word for that that makes it sound nicer, unfortunately it escapes me.

Moses got to see the back of God, but how if God is incorporeal. Was it Jesus? Jesus is only a way of flagging an entity to explore its purpose. God is always with us. Hence the admonition to be kind. We go round and round here. The outcome is the same. God is Love. We leave God when we forget that. God never leaves us. As long as we know where our bread comes from and say thank you and share w others we are God's people.

The bible did not create religion, man did. We were given the instructions on how to live a moral life. Everybody on this site knows this. No matter how we say it. A prophecy can be changed if the players change their behavior. If all thing remain the same the prophecy will be true. Perhaps it is that way with God?

Once we get to earth, the laws are the GPS for our free will to find him. Yes! I hear the yowling that I'm hop-scotching around. But, when I read the questions and answers we always come back to the same end.

Forgive me for my opinions and unnamed teachers that are in this block of information. Forgive me. I was so happy to learn today twice, that in Hebrew "he" is used neutrally because both man and woman are "he" to be inclusive because a woman has something extra that a man doesn't have. Interesting for Torah. In koine Greek the "he" pronoun is included to mean she. It's unfortunate to have a translation bc I would really like to know what the resurrected Jesus's "agapeo" means to Peter's "fileo" when the bantered word in English is love?

Zhanna 19

Upvote:1

The book of Genesis is foundation for events and stories throughout the bible climaxing at Revelation. It provides both history and prophecy.

As far as no longer under old laws is concerned, the ten commandments and other statues are still valid. Colossians 2;14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. The ordinances spoken of cover the sacrificial system and statues devised by the religious leaders of that period. However, much error is taught and embraced by this verse.

Revelation 22;14 Blessed are they that do his commmandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. There are only seven verses left in the bible. God's law is immutable.