Evangelicals are all over the place regarding the “law of God.” No two Christians agree on what Biblical laws are in force and binding. Evangelicals agree, for the most part, on the validity of New Testament commands, laws, and precepts. However, when it comes to Old Testament law, opinions diverge, often wildly so.
Some Evangelicals believe the Old Testament law was fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead. The 613 laws found in the Old Testament are not binding on believers. Other Evangelicals divide Old Testament laws into three categories: moral, ceremonial, and judicial. Only Old Testament laws “deemed” moral are valid and in force today. These Evangelicals typically hang on to the Ten Commandments, laws governing sexual behavior, and laws that are prooftexts for their peculiar codes of conduct.
I grew up in the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement. I was taught that we were New Testament (New Covenant) Christians; that we were obligated to follow the teachings of the New Testament alone. Well, except when pastors wanted to preach against this or that sexual sin, women wearing pants, tithing, or any other hot-button issue stuck in their craws (or up their asses) that week. Then Old Testament proof texts were trotted out to justify their pulpit pronouncements. Sometimes, preachers would preach up the Ten Commandments — well, actually the Nine Commandments since IFB adherents are not sabbath keepers — ignoring the fact that the previous week they preached about being New Testament Christians. Quite frankly, such preaching could be quite schizophrenic, leading congregants to quietly say to themselves, “preacher, make up your mind!”
Some Evangelicals — mainly Calvinists — believe there is continuity between the Old Testament and New Testament; that all the laws of God, rightly interpreted, are binding and in force. As an Evangelical Calvinist, my favorite Bible verses on the law of God were found in Matthew 5:17-19:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus said that he did not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. What “law” was Jesus talking about? The Old Testament.
Jesus went on to say that not one jot or tittle (the minutest of parts) of Old Testament law will pass until ALL be fulfilled. Not just his death and resurrection; until ALL be fulfilled. Jesus said exactly what he meant by ALL. Til Heaven and earth pass away, the law of God is in force and binding. Has Heaven and earth passed away? Has Jesus created a new Heaven and new earth, as promised in the book of Revelation? No, so this means the law of God is still in force. Based on this interpretation of the Bible, most Evangelicals are lawless. Not only do most Evangelicals ignore the Old Testament’s laws, but they also show no regard for some of the Ten Commandments — especially the Sabbath command.
How did the churches you grew up in talk about the law of God? Please share your experiences in the comment section.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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My Catholic upbringing might not be relevant, but the West Coast (US) churches I attended in the 1960s and 1970s were all about loving one’s neighbor. My parents were conservative, but Dad was mostly concerned with moral public behavior (he was also Lutheran), and it was my Catholic mother who cared about thought crimes. Husband and I worked hard to hide the fact that we were sleeping together before our wedding. Dad wouldn’t’ve cared, that was private behavior, as long as we practiced good birth control. Mom would’ve had a fit heard around the planet.
my presbyterian upbrining was about following the “10” commandments, and ignoring the rest as convenient. They were quite sure that “all” didn’t mean all.
I never quite got this, and I don’t really think my pastors did either (though they would probably argue that assertion). I certainly heard the distinctions of moral, ceremonial, and judicial law, but the boundaries seemed fuzzy (such as which hairstyles are ceremonial and which ones are moral?). Supposedly the OT law only existed to convict the sinner, but was so complex and demanding that no human could actually obey it completely which was why everyone was condemned by God. Jesus may have fulfilled the ceremonial law, except where he didn’t (back to appropriate haircuts and clothing….), but moral law was still in effect. Jesus took away the penalty for failing to follow that law, but only for believers. He also made the law harder to follow by adding thought crime to it.
If a believer broke the law (sin) they still needed to ask for forgiveness even though they were already forgiven of all sin at salvation. Breaking OT law, especially habitually, might indicate you weren’t really saved in the first place or that you lost your salvation (depending you theological camp), or it was just evidence the Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.
Then there was how, being eternal, Jesus is the only way to salvation for all of history. The OT saints “looked forward” to the savior, just like we looked back, but they still got the worst of the punishments doled out by the OT law (unless they were powerful men like David in which case the earthly penalties didn’t apply to them).
And my churches were staunchly not universalists, so Jesus’ blood only covered believers. If you are not saved, or one of the elect (for the Calvinists), the law still applies to you (I’m not sure if that also includes the ceremonial law, or just moral). But….you also can’t cover up breaking the law with sacrifices anymore, which was good enough under OT law, since Jesus was the last, perfect sacrifice, but not so perfect to save all humanity, only those who put their faith in him.
Somehow, this seemed to make more sense before…….
The Southern Baptist church I attended explicitly taught rhat Jesus fulfilled the law, or our obligation to the law. We were to keep the 10 Commandments, and of course being gay was condemned, but shrimp, hairstyles, mixed fabrics, etc……no, those were out the window, fulfilled by Jesus.
Growing up as Catholic, I heard nothing about Christian “law” beyond the Ten Commandments. Then again, in that place and time, the Church didn’t encourage people to spend time reading or thinking about the Bible.
The Evangelical Church of which I was a part early in my adult life was different. While the New Testament was the “real” authority, the laws delineated in Leviticus were trotted out when it suited the pastor or the occasion. Or, more precisely, a specific law would be wielded over us.
Matthew 23:1-3 says, “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.’ ”
Christians who distance themselves from the Old Testament are simply ignoring what Matthew says that Jesus said. Matthew says to keep the law as the Pharisees tell you to do.
Morality has come a long way since Old Testament times. Move on, folks. We need to move beyond both the Old Testament and the New.
See https://mindsetfree.blog/dare-to-question/is-the-bible-the-best-moral-guide/