Law According to the Old and the New Testament

The law, In the New Testament, refers to the old times when people used to view obeying the commandments as a way of accepting God. Jesus did not agree with this. He said that people found various loopholes to obey the laws but the still lived a greedy and wicked life (Mathew 23:23-28). Jesus made a statement concerning the law that brought some confusions. He did not come to abolish but to fulfill the law. Initially, it seems that we should observe all the rituals and rules of the Old Testament. In contrary, Jesus and the disciples did not observe most of the rules and rituals. Jesus did not do away with the ethical and moral laws that were in effect in the Old Testament. He expanded and affirmed on the laws but stated that obedience should come from the heart rather than just technically observe the law.

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Jesus and the disciples did not abide by the scribal rules against engaging in any work during the Sabbath. They did not observe the hand washing ritual before eating (Mathew 15:1-2). On the contrary to the dietary rules, Jesus stated that a man cannot be defiled by food, but the bad actions and attitudes defile an individual. In fact, he frequently criticized the scribal was and a bit of the civil law (Mark 7:1-23). Through his actions and teachings, Jesus was able to reveal the true meaning and intention of the law.

It is also evident that Jesus was a fulfillment of the law himself (Mark 10:45, john 1:16). Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for the sake of mankind ended animal sacrifices and some aspects of ceremonial laws. In the Old Testament, the laws referred to the decrees compilation in the Torah books of the Bible. Obedience to these laws was a good obligation in an attempt to merit his blessings and favors. When the laws were transgressed, the covenant was broken and thus gods relationship with the men. To restore this relationship, animal sacrifices had to be made. Contrary to the Old Testament laws, the New Testament law refers to when people take obedience as a way of accepting God. Apostle Paul contrasts with the forgiven state that believers enjoy as a result of Gods grace. Paul makes it clear that the love of God fulfills the law, and the forgiveness is by Christs sacrifice.

The first Christians were Jewish, and they continued observing the Law of Moses together with the new Christian faith. As more Gentiles converted to be Christians, disputes arose on whether the Christians gentile should observe the law issues on diet and circumcision became troublesome and posed a threat to the Christian unity. Around 49 A.D... Paul, Peter, James among other leaders met in Jerusalem to bring clarity to the issue. The Gentiles were not bound to any Law of Moses. Their faith in Christ was enough to convert them to Christianity. The council directed the Gentile Christians to abstain from specific things that were offensive to the Jews such as, blood, sexual immorality, food sacrificed to idol and eating of meat for a strangled animal.

With Christs coming, God established a new covenant with the human kind. Jesus and his followers gave a radical new understanding of the true intent of the law in the Old Testament. They introduced a rule of love and spiritual truth rather than rule by law (John 13:34-35).

However, God did not revoke the original with the Jewish people and the Israelites (Galatians 3:17). The Jews are not condemned by the new covenant neither are the persecuted. The New Testament teachings clarify that Christians do not have to follow the rules of the Old Testament about, punishments, crimes, slavery, circumcision animal sacrifice, the Sabbath. Christians still consider the scriptures in the Old Testament for spiritual and moral guidance. Freedom from the laws in the Old Testament is not a pass through for Christians to compromise their moral standards. The ethical and moral teachings of Jesus and his disciples call for greater self-discipline.

The New Testament is the fulfillment and an explanation of the Old Testament. For a Christian to know which commandments should be left in the Old Testament, they should study the New Testament. Various references and quotations from the Old Testament are located in the New Testament followed by their explanations the New Testament explains which part from the old testaments should be followed and kept. The epistles books in the New Testament are written to tell the Christians what they should do in an attempt to live by faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing is missed or omitted, hence, whenever one needs to know a specific commandment, he should look for the commandment in New Testaments epistles... paying of tithes, keeping the Sabbath days children spanking are biblical teachings located in the Old Testament and the law. They are not Locate in the epistles of the New Testament.

The greatest dispute between the two testaments is related to law and enforcement. The Law of Moses in the Old Testament has various prescriptive laws on how life should be lived. Additionally, it has a set of punishments which were applied against anyone who broke the law. In contrast, the laws in the New Testament show how Christianity about faith in God and not the obedience to the laws. The Israelites were in a different position to the Christian s in the New Testament era. In the Old Testament, there was a complete system of governance, justice system and policing. In the New Testament era, these elements were always assumed to be supplied by an external power. Justice was administered by the provincial powers of the Roman Empire.

Many of the teachings in the Old Testament do not apply to the current Christians because we are in the New Testament age, and we are under grace and not law. Some of the commandment s are not applicable since most of them are from the law and the laws spirit. Examples are, priesthood, animal sacrifices Sabbath days and fest days. The New Testament emphasizes the importance of loving your neighbor and forgiving those who wrong us more than in the Old Testament. However, these aspects still from the principles found in the Old Testament. Moses law had many provisions that enforced a loving and conscious culture. Keeping the Old Testament law by intended way enabled people to show love and care to their neighbors. In various ways, Jesus teaching, were aimed at correcting people's ways. A greater degree of justice was found in the Old Testament than the new since it includes a national justice system role. The principles of the New Testament were independent of the national governance. Christianity is to remain a group of believers motivated by genuine faith and no criminal justice.

Works Cited

"God's Change In Old And New Testaments: Eye For An Eye Or Turn The Other Cheek - 2Pi.Info". 2pi.info. N.p., 2010. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

"What Does The Bible Say About The Old Testament Law?". Christianbiblereference.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.