Why Don’t Christians Follow All the Old Testament Laws? | Hot Ones

The question of why Christians follow some Old Testament laws and not others cannot be answered by treating the Bible like a rule book. The Bible is God’s self-revelation through his activity in history, ultimately revealed in Jesus. Jesus himself read Moses, the prophets, and all of Scripture as a story pointing to him. The Bible is not primarily about people finding themselves in David or the Good Samaritan. David points to the one who fights for scared Israelites, and the Good Samaritan points to the one who finds broken people in the ditch.

The laws of Scripture are not arbitrary things God made up to keep people from having fun. Genesis gives the original human purpose: humanity was made in God’s image to reflect what God is like, to reign with his wisdom and goodness, and to spread Eden’s life throughout creation. Sin was not merely crossing a line. Humanity grabbed autonomy and decided it could define good and evil apart from God.

Exodus shows that liberty comes before the law. God rescued Israel from Egypt before giving Israel a single command, then called them a kingdom of priests. The Torah taught rescued people how to live with God dwelling in their midst so the surrounding nations could see something different. The law was covenant instruction for Israel in its world, not a complete legal code dropped into every culture and time period.

The law itself was good, but it could inform people without transforming them. Sin used good commands as an opportunity for rebellion. Humanity did not need better instructions because humanity’s problem was deeper than ignorance. Humanity needed a better human and someone able to break sin’s bondage.

Jesus enters the ongoing story of Israel, not a brand-new story disconnected from the Old Testament. Matthew shows Jesus reliving Israel’s history: rooted in Israel’s genealogy, coming out of Egypt, passing through the waters, entering the wilderness, and succeeding where Israel failed. Jesus fulfills the law by bringing its whole story to where it was always headed. He is the ideal human, the faithful Israelite, and the true Son of God.

God had already shown Abraham that he would bear the covenant’s cost himself. Jesus stands in Israel’s place, fulfills the covenant’s faithfulness, and bears its curse. His death and resurrection establish the new covenant, forgive sin, defeat death, and restore humanity’s original calling. The Spirit now makes people into the kind of people the law could only describe: free not to do whatever they want, but free to be who God made them to be.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The Bible is God’s story first. The Bible cannot be reduced to a list of life hacks, moral examples, or isolated rules. God reveals his character through a long story that reaches its clearest point in Jesus. Jesus becomes the center that keeps every other part from being misread. [10:53]
• 2. Sin rejects humanity’s original calling. Genesis frames sin as more than bad behavior because humanity was created to image God into creation. The tree represented the temptation to decide good and evil without trusting God’s wisdom. Sin always twists human vocation into self-rule. [20:01]
• 3. Liberty comes before the law. Exodus does not show God demanding obedience so Israel can earn rescue. God rescues Israel first, then gives covenant instruction to a people he has already claimed. Obedience grows from belonging, not from trying to force God’s favor. [23:25]
• 4. Law informs, but Jesus transforms. The law can name the boundary, but it cannot change the heart that wants to cross it. Sin can even use a good command to stir up rebellion. Jesus frees people from sin’s bondage and forms in them the faithfulness the law pointed toward. [31:16]
• 5. Jesus restores the human vocation. Jesus does not merely cancel a failed checklist. He becomes the faithful human and faithful Israelite, bearing the curse of unfaithfulness and opening resurrection life. The Spirit’s indwelling means God now makes his people into living temples, able to reflect him again.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:19] - Why Questions Need Better Questions
• [02:39] - Why Follow Some Old Testament Laws?
• [07:19] - The Bible Is Not a Rule Book
• [10:53] - God’s Self-Revelation in Jesus
• [15:19] - Humanity’s Original Purpose
• [19:07] - The Real Sin in the Garden
• [22:09] - Israel Rescued Before the Law
• [25:49] - Torah for a People With God Present
• [29:13] - The Law Is Good, Sin Is the Problem
• [32:29] - Humanity Needed a Better Human
• [35:02] - Jesus Relives Israel’s Story
• [39:25] - Jesus Fulfills the Law
• [42:38] - Jesus Bears the Covenant Curse
• [45:49] - Free to Be Who God Made You To Be

Bible Reading

Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” [15:19]

Exodus 19:1-6
On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” [22:03]

Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” [39:36]

Luke 24:27
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. [11:22]

Observation questions

1. In Genesis 1:26-28, what responsibilities does God give humanity along with being made in his image? [16:30]
2. Before God calls Israel to obey his covenant in Exodus 19, what does he remind them that he has already done for them? [23:03]
3. What does Exodus 19 call Israel to become among the nations, and how does that connect with humanity’s original purpose in Genesis 1? [23:43]
4. In Luke 24:27 and Matthew 5:17, what do Jesus’ words say about the relationship between himself and the Old Testament Scriptures? [39:25]

Interpretation questions

1. If the Bible is God’s self-revelation through history that reaches its clearest point in Jesus, how does that change the way a person reads a difficult Old Testament story or law? [10:50]
2. Genesis says humans were made to reflect God and rule with his goodness. How does this make sin more than simply breaking a rule?
3. God rescued Israel before giving Israel the law. What does that order reveal about the relationship between God’s grace, belonging to him, and obedience? [23:18]
4. Jesus says he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, not abolish them. How does Jesus’ faithfulness where Israel failed help explain why the law alone could not solve humanity’s problem? [40:04]

Application questions

1. When reading the Bible, is there a tendency to look first for a rule to follow, a problem to fix, or a character to imitate? What might change this week by asking first, “What does this show about God and how does it lead to Jesus?” [12:21]
2. God created people to reflect his wisdom and goodness in the world. Where—at home, at work, at school, or online—does reflecting God’s character feel most needed right now? What could that look like in one specific relationship?
3. Sin often shows up as the desire to decide good and evil apart from God. Where is there a temptation to insist on personal control rather than trusting God’s wisdom? [20:01]
4. Israel was rescued before being commanded to obey. When does obedience begin to feel like an attempt to earn God’s approval instead of a response to his grace? What truth about God’s rescue needs to be remembered in those moments? [23:25]
5. The law can identify the boundary, but it cannot transform the heart. Is there an area where outward behavior is being managed while the deeper desires, anger, fear, resentment, or pride still need to be brought honestly to Jesus? [31:06]
6. Jesus makes his people free—not free to do whatever they want, but free to become who God made them to be. What is one bondage, pattern, or false identity from which freedom is needed? How could the group support that step toward freedom this week? [49:37]