Q: Why do most Christians
today throw out the old testament teachings (Leviticus, Deuteronomy) and say
we are under grace, when God gave us the laws/commandments as a guidepost for
safe behavior? Is this a gentile thing? (I'm one, so I'd like to know). In other
words, a lot of the laws, especially that relate to women in the old testament
are ignored in Christian churches, and are not taught, much to women's detriment.
I am curious because there is such an emphasis on the church praying for Israel,
etc., but how can we be a light, when we throw out God's words as unnecessary?
A: The laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy are part of God's covenant with the nation of Israel and have never applied to the world at large. Even rabbinic Judaism does not expect or even desire for non-Jews to keep all of these commandments. In rabbinic Judaism, a non-Jew is a "Righteous Gentile" if he keeps what are called the Seven Noachide Commandments, based on Genesis 9:1-17
1. Practice civil justice
2. Do not blaspheme
3. Do not practice idolatry
4. Do not commit incest (sometimes read to mean any sexual sin)
5. Do not commit murder
6. Do not steal
7. Do not eat flesh cut from a living animal. (sometimes read as prohibition against cruelty in general)
More importantly, the New Testament teaches in Galatians 3:23-25 and elsewhere
that the Church is not under the Torah (or "Law," meaning the five
books of Moses). In Acts 15 the issue arose in the early church as to whether
Gentile believers should undergo conversion to Judaism. The decision of the
apostles was that this was not necessary. They asked only four things of them:
1. Abstain from eating meat sacrificed to idols
2. Abstain from blood
3. Abstain from meat of strangled animals
4. Abstain from sexual immorality
(Acts 15:28-29)
This does not mean, of course, that incest, murder and thievery are acceptable
forms of behavior, but these values are more or less universal, and were certainly
familiar to the Greek converts. These things are mentioned elsewhere in the
New Testament.(1 Corinthians 6:10, for example, or Galatians 5:19))
Notice that there is nothing in either of these lists about keeping the Sabbath
or any Holy Day, or about avoiding certain kinds of meat or other food, or
how to prepare a grain offering, or pay a bride price or stone a sorceress
or any number of laws given to the wandering Israelites. In Galatians 4:8-11,
Paul specifically chastises the Galatians for observing special days and seasons.
Paul saw the Law as a "pedagogue," using the Greek word for a slave
whose job it was to usher his master's child safely to school. According to
Galatians 3:24, the job of the law was to usher us to "Christ" (the
Messiah). Once the "pedagogue" has delivered the child, he lets
go -- otherwise his job is not done! By the same token, once we have come
to Messiah, we must "let go" of the law, because otherwise it will
hold us back. (Galatians 4:9) (How can a child go to school if he refuses
to get off the bus?)
Of course there are good principles in the law which can still be applied
("Thou shalt not steal" for example is still a very good idea),
but there a many, many rules which would only be a burden to us now. To use
the bus driver analogy again, there may be some things the bus driver told
you as a child that are still useful today. It's still a good idea to look
both ways before crossing the street, and not to get out of a vehicle until
it has come to a complete stop. But if you refuse to chew gum because a bus
driver forbade it twenty years ago, that's just silly. You are no longer under
that authority.
If you find an idea in Old Testament law that helps you become the kind of
person that exudes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22), then that's wonderful. Do that
as long as it helps. But let it go as soon as you see that Keeping the Rule
has become more important to you than these things. Paul said no law can match
up to these things. (Galatians 5:23)
David Brown
AMF International
http://www.amfi.org