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“Before And After”
Categories: DOCTRINE, NEW TESTAMENT, OLD TESTAMENTWhy do some religions go by the laws of the Old Testament and others the New? I can't understand why there is so much confusion. Could you please tell me what verses they use to back up both views?Sincerely,
Of Two MindsDear Of Two Minds,
The confusion happens because people don’t understand the purpose of the Old Testament. Since God wrote the Old Law, why would He all of a sudden discard it? The key to why the Old Testament laws are no longer applicable is to realize that the Old Law was supposed to lead the Jews to Christ (Gal 3:24). The Old Testament prophesied of Jesus, and it prepared people for Jesus’ coming. When Jesus came, He didn’t discard the Old Testament – He fulfilled it (Matt 5:17). Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are the fulfillment of everything of which the prophets of old spoke (1 Pet 1:10-12, Acts 3:20-21). Moses said that there would come a day when a Messiah would come… and that when He came, the Jews were to follow Christ instead (Acts 3:22-24). Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament by being the Messiah and paying the price for mankind’s sins. The Old Testament was a tutor to lead us to Christ (Gal 3:24), but now that Christ is here, He has fulfilled the law, and we are no longer bound by its laws (Gal 3:25). The Old Testament still provides many wonderful examples and lessons of morality (1 Cor 10:11), but its specific laws no longer apply.
