I have gone back to school. One of the classes I am taking right now is called "Old Testament Orientation". It is an in depth study of the Old Testament.
As I was doing the lesson this morning, the professor was talking about the Old Testament law and its use today. I thought it was a very good lesson.
What is the purpose of the Old Testament law today?
Here is a quote from the lesson today...
“We have to assume, in fact, that none of the stipulations (laws) are binding upon us unless they are renewed in the New Covenant. That is, unless an Old testament law is somehow restated or reinforce in the New Testament, it is no longer directly binding on God’s people.
The first thought is that unless the law is repeated in the New Testament, it is not directly binding to us as Christians today. For example. There is a law in Ex. 22:1 that talks about a stolen ox. That law would not particularly apply to us today.
So the question might be, why do we need to study the Old Testament? The Old Testament might not be God's Word to us today, but it is God's Word for us today. There are many principles and guidelines that can still be a help to us today. Many things from the New Testament come directly from the Old Testament.
The Old Testament still affirms the moral principles that we would learn in the rest of the scriptures. For example, the Old Testament is really big on taking care of the poor and needy. If we would not read that aspect of the Bible, we would miss God's emphasis on that, and miss some of the importance of the what God wants us to do with the widows, orphans and needy.
Yes, we do not follow every rule and guideline in the Old Testament today, but we have to be very careful not to neglect or discount what it says. The Old Testament is huge in really understanding who God is. Let me encourage you to study it, learn from it, and apply it's principles to your life.
