Non-Christians sometimes accuse Christians of being inconsistent because they don’t obey certain Old Testament commandments. For example, the Old Testament commands believers to circumcise all male children (Genesis 17:9-14), to offer animal sacrifices (Leviticus 7:1-6) and to refrain from eating various kinds of animals (Leviticus 11).
However, few Christians today worry about obeying these commands. Are believers inconsistent? Are they guilty of ignoring certain Old Testament requirements? Christians must have an answer for critics who accuse them of failing to follow Scripture consistently. In addition, believers need clear principles that will help them know how to follow God’s Word as faithful disciples. What a Christian does with various Old Testament commands is an important topic because it relates to apologetics and discipleship.
One should reject the proposal to divide the Old Testament law into three parts (civil, ceremonial and moral) and follow only its “moral” teachings. The ancient Jews did not separate the Old Testament law into these categories, and the earliest Christian reference to this model appears to have been Tertullian (c. AD 200s). Any “solution” to this challenging topic that depreciates or disparages the Old Testament must be rejected. The Old Testament is God-breathed Scripture useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
One reason Christians don’t follow the Old Testament’s commands as precisely as the ancient Hebrews did is due to the progressive nature of God’s revelation. The Bible reveals God’s plan not all at once, but over time. Later revelation (New Testament) provides greater understanding of previous revelation (Old Testament), showing that Christians are not required to follow the Old Testament’s commands precisely, as earlier believers did.
A second reason Christians don’t follow the Old Testament as the ancient Hebrews did relates to Christ’s coming: Jesus’ incarnation served as a dividing point in history that changed forever believers’ relationship to the Old Testament’s commandments. Scripture suggests that the Old Testament law and prophets (i.e., all of the Old Testament) pointed to Christ (Matthew 11:13); that His ministry, death and resurrection fulfilled the requirements of the Old Testament law and prophets (Matthew 5:17), and that His teaching changed the way believers are to view and practice Old Testament commands (Mark 7:19).
As to interpreting the Old Testament’s commandments (e.g., the 10 Commandments, laws, teachings) faithfully and responsibly, the following principles provide guidance:
- One important purpose of the laws and commands was to make people conscious of sin or to show sin as sin (Galatians 3:19a).
- God did not give the law to save people (Galatians 3:21). People were not saved in Old Testament times by keeping God’s commandments.
- God did not intend for His people to follow the Old Testament laws and commands forever in the same manner as the ancient Hebrews. In Galatians, Paul teaches that the law’s validity ceased with the coming of Jesus, Abraham’s offspring. (See Galatians 3:19, where “promise” refers to God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3b; see also Galatians 3:29.)
- The Old Testament’s laws and commands were like a temporary guardian who oversaw the moral behavior of believers until Christ’s coming (Galatians 3:24). Believers are now no longer under the law (Galatians 3:25).
- Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament and brought it to its completion. Christians must read Old Testament laws and commands through the lens of Christ’s life and teaching, as well as the teachings of the New Testament writings (e.g., Galatians, Hebrews).
- An Old Testament command need not be followed if the New Testament does not teach its continuation. Note how the New Testament treats the following Old Testament commands and requirements: 1) keeping the Sabbath (compare Exodus 31:14-15 and Romans 14:5-6, 10; Colossians 2:16-17); 2) circumcision (compare Genesis 17:9-14 and Galatians 6:15-16; see also Galatians 5:6 and 1 Corinthians 7:19); and 3) offering sacrifices for sins (compare the many references to sacrifice in Leviticus with Hebrews 10:1-4, 10, 18).
- An Old Testament command must be followed if it is reaffirmed in the New Testament. See, for example, Matthew 15:4 and 19:19, both of which reaffirm Exodus 20:12’s command for children to honor their parents.
- With some Old Testament commands, one should seek to identify the abiding principle that undergirds it. The underlying principle, not necessarily the specific command given, is what believers today must follow. For example, in Leviticus 19:19, the principle of holiness must be obeyed (especially in light of 1 Peter 1:15-16), not the stated Old Testament commands (e.g., refraining from planting a field with two kinds of seeds).
Though Christians do not follow the Old Testament’s commands and laws precisely as the ancient Hebrews did, they are not guilty of inconsistency. With the Messiah’s coming, everything changed. In addition, they recognize correctly that God’s later revelation (New Testament) shows how believers may faithfully keep His former revelation (Old Testament).