“Be Holy because I, the Lord your
God am Holy.”
-Leviticus 19:2b-
-Leviticus 19:2b-
This
morning I was reading in Leviticus chapters 19-22 (very interesting
reading). As I was reading through one
of the lists of Do’s & Don’ts, I was struck with a thought about how this
applies to us today, post-crucifixion and post-resurrection.
One
of the arguments that takes place in the church of today is the Old Testament
Law doesn’t apply to us so there is no need to really pay much attention to
it. “Oh sure,” some might say, “by all
means read it, because there is stuff there that carries a good value for
living a Godly life, but we are under the New Covenant of Christ so the Old
Covenant doesn't really mean anything to us.”
The problem with that argument is that in Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus speaks
specifically about the importance of upholding the Law until the end of
time. That tells me Jesus, knowing
that he came to create the “New Covenant”, still felt the OT Law (the Old
Covenant) was just as important now as it was back when it was written.
I
would really like you to indulge me and participate in an experiment: pull out
your Bible and read Leviticus 19 (the whole chapter). By my count, there are 36 laws or decrees
that God gives Moses to give to the people to follow. Now that you’ve read the chapter, go back and
count how many of those laws/decrees you think should still be followed today
as a post-crucifixion/resurrection Christian who is not bound to the “Law of
Moses”……For me there are 7 maybe 8 of those 36 laws that I would say don’t
apply or are unnecessary for me to keep today.
I won’t say which ones here, but feel free to ask me next time you see
me, that might strike up some interesting conversation. What’s your number?
Here’s
my point with all this; NO, we are not bound to the Old Testament Law, because
Jesus’ death and resurrection frees us from that. HOWEVER, we ARE still bound to the God of the
Old Testament and therefore we are still bound to the desires of that God. The coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 brought
with it the actual Spirit of God to dwell with us (how that physically/spiritually
works is beyond me, but it works) and the Holy Spirit gives us the knowledge
and wisdom to decide what is a law or decree of God that still applies to us
today. It is my belief that we are to continue
following and upholding a large portion of the 600 and some-odd laws of the Old
Testament because they are good ,moral, ethical, Godly, CHRIST-like laws. A large number of the 36 laws you just read
fit that description.
Simply
put, as Christians we must ascribe allegiance to the God of the Old Testament
because he is the very same God who is the God of the New Testament; God the
Father who sent Jesus to die to saves us from our sins. Therefore, if we bow to that ONE God, who is
the God of the Old and the New, why would we not follow a great many of the laws
he instructed the Jews to follow in the Old Testament? Why would we not strive to follow the laws
and decrees that God spoke to Moses and his people? Since he is the same God, it only makes sense
that we would, right?
Think
it over, read Leviticus 19 again; then try to tell God that you will not strive
to live out those laws that makes sense for us to follow today and see how the
Holy Spirit moves in you. I’m willing to
bet he will bring sense of correction upon you causing you to think twice about
that intention.