Are Christians Required to keep the Old Testament Law?

​When applying the Bible to our lives today, we encounter many commandments. But should Christians obey them all? Are Christians required to keep the Old Testament Law? This is a common question, especially when considering the Old Testament commands. This question has produced much debate throughout church history and is surely worthy of careful attention and study. Some people accuse Christians of inconsistency, saying we follow the commandments we agree with and ignore others. For example, the Bible says not to wear a garment made of two different kinds of cloth, like polyester and cotton blends (Lev. 19:19). There are also commands like "Don't boil a goat in its mother's milk," (Ex. 23:19). If the OT Law is followed you can not go to steak and shake and have a cheeseburger and a milkshake at the same time, doing so would violate the OT Law. So, how do we decide which commands to follow? As noted above, Historically, Christians have debated this. Are we being arbitrary or whimsical by following some commands and not others? No, we are not. We have a reason and a foundation for our approach. Let's explore this together and understand why this is the case. In this post, we will seek to provide evidence to show that Christians are not required to keep the Old Testament Law; rather, Christians being under the New Covenant are called to live in light of the Law of Christ, which is commonly referred to as the Law of Love (Gal. 5:14; 6:2; 1 Cor 9:20-21).

​Because of Christ and his accomplished work, Christians are no longer under the Old Covenant and consequently are also no longer under the Law of the Old Covenant. The New Covenant was ushered in with the death of Christ (1 Cor. 11:25; see also Jer. 31:31-34; Ez. 36:26-27). In Romans 7:6, Paul states that Christians have been "released from the Law, having died to it" (Rom. 7:6 ESV). Having been "released from the Law," and "having died to it," Christians are now able to serve "in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter," (Rom 7:6).  Paul states in 2 Corinthians 3:6 that God has "made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Co 3:6). Paul repeatedly argues that believers in Christ are no longer "under the law," but rather are "led by the Spirit," (see Gal. 5:18; cf. Rom. 2:12; 6:14; Gal. 3:10; 3:23; 4:5) in order that they may keep the Law of Christ. With the coming of the New Covenant the Old Covenant has passed away (see, Rom. 7:6; Heb. 8:13; Gal. 3:24-25; 2 Cor 3:6-11). Concerning the argument that Christians are no longer "under the law," Schreiner states, "Those who argue that believers must continue to subscribe to the Mosaic law have failed to see that a new age has come, so that they are content to live in the "present evil age" (Gal. 1:4) (Schreiner, 2013, 21).

Perhaps the most significant treatise on the Christian's relationship to the Law is found in Paul's letter to the Galatians. In this letter, Paul deals specifically with a group of people often referred to as "Judaizers" and their teaching that gentile believers must be circumcised and adhere to the Torah.  Stacy, describing Paul's refutation of the Judaizer's teaching in the letter to the Galatians, states, "Paul takes on their (the Judaizers) argument and routes it with a spirited repudiation of their premise" (Stacy, Corinthians and Galatians, 7:26).  The Judaizer's premise that gentile believers must adhere to the Torah and circumcision is met with Paul's refutation of such teaching in the letter to the Galatians. Paul's strong rebuttal was due to the fact that the teaching of the Judaizer directly affected the true gospel message. Elwell states, "To rely on rules, even the Old Testament law that Paul elsewhere praises (Rom. 7:12), is to abandon the gospel's message of grace (Gal. 5:4)" (Elwell, 2013, 283).

 Ultimately, because Christians are under the New Covenant and not under the Old Covenant, they are not required to keep the Old Covenant law. The author of Hebrews states, "In speaking of a new covenant, he (God) makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away" (Heb. 8:13 ESV). In other words, no single Old Covenant Law is binding upon the New Covenant believer because it has been made obsolete. If the old covenant has passed away and the commands therein are no longer binding on Christians whatsoever, then why do we keep any of the commands? The answer to that question is simple, Christians are called to obey the "Law of Christ" (Gal 6:2). The Law of Christ is fundamentally the Law to love as Christ loved (see Gal. 5:14; cf. Matt. 22:37-40). To love God and to love one's neighbor is the call of every believer. Naturally, some laws prescribed under the Old Covenant also fall under the Law of Christ. Take, for example, the sixth commandment "you shall not murder." To murder your neighbor is to break the command to love your neighbor; therefore, Christians are called to keep this command. But the call to obey this command is not because it is part of the Old Covenant, and Christians are called to obey the Old Covenant Law, rather Christians are called to obey this command because it falls under the Law of Christ. 

​Bibliography

• Bird, Michael F., and Thomas R. Schreiner. Four Views on the Apostle Paul. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013.
• Elwell, Walter A., and Yarbrough, Robert W. Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.
• Stacy, Robert W. “Corinthians and Galatians.” Filmed Feb. 2020 Liberty University video.
  
• The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016).