What are we supposed to "do" with Old Testament Law?

[wordsower]

Many people are sick because they ignore God's laws.... no I am not SDA.

Blah blah blah

Many people are sick that never ate a piece of pork in their life.

My great grandmother ate bacon and eggs and hamhock and beans with lard and lived to be in her 90's.

When I grew up SDA one of my friends mom--who was a vegetarian--died at a very early age of breast cancer.

The water will kill you if you hadn't heard.

Ask the Lord to bless the food, use some common sense and be happy. I'm convinced attitude has more to do with your health than anything else.

God is the one who asked Peter who he was to call unclean what He had made clean. He also said the man who eats only vegetables lacks faith. If you are His your fate is in His hands.

[Smalcald]

Christ Himself said that nothing that enters your digestive tract could defile a man. What comes out of our heart defiles us, He was pretty direct.

Healthy is one thing, but if you want to go back to attempting to be justified through following the ritual and dietary laws of the Old Testament than you are bound to follow all of them, not just the ones you want to pick and choose. Read Galatians about what Paul says to those who want to make a show of doing those things who put their faith in the law.

Chicken today is the most disgusting and dirty meat, just looking a the rates of people getting violently ill from eating it. If you have ever been to a chicken processing plant you will know why.

But this has nothing to do with Old Testament Law; it has to do with health. If you want to be healthy and have the healthiest diet, then be a vegetarian don't smoke, and don't drink, there is no doubt that it is the healthiest way.

I am not SDA and think they are spot on wrong on their scriptural requirements for diet, but as a group SDA people do live long lives and are very healthy people. People in Loma Linda have a long life expectancy. But eating a pork sandwhich will not put you in danger of God's wrath anymore than missing Mass on a High Holy Day, they are the same concepts, a works based theology.

[Guest LivingWater]

Thanks for all the replies; I am still not sure whether this matters healthwise or not, but I think it doesn't matter spiritualwise.

Pork kind of grosses me anyway.

But shrimp....

[billie]

I try to stay away from pork and shrimp because I heard it's not good for you, but I like shrimp, too.

[Adarian]

The question was "what to do with the old testament law".

No man is able to keep the law, it is a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ. If you choose to live by certain elements of the law you are obligated to keep all of it, and this is impossible to a sinful man. Jesus fulfilled all of the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf. So now we walk after the Spirit, being governed by the law of the Spirit instead of the law of Moses. We are to keep the two greatest commandments: Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself, because all of the law is fulfilled in these two commands. Love of God is to obey His commands, and Love does no harm to its neighbor.

From Romans, chapter 8:

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

[Brandli5]

Leviticus chapter 11 lists the dietary restrictions God gave to the nation of Israel. The dietary rules were never intended to apply to anyone other than Israel. Jesus later declares all foods clean (Mark 7:19). God gave the apostle Peter a vision in which He declares concerning formerly unclean animals,

[Adarian]

James 2:

10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Galatians 3:

10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

Hab 2:4 Rom 1:17

12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Lev 18:5 Rom 10:5

13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

No contradiction here. It is by the Spirit that we are able to obey any command of God. To keep the written law is impossible. By the Spirit we keep the commands, such as the two greatest.

The written law is a curse. The law of the Spirit is life and peace.

Read Romans chapter 8 carefully.

[Guest onethang]

There are differen't types of laws in the Old Testament. There are laws that pertain to the Levitcal Priesthood, that were never intended to be permanent, but would only continue till Christ went to the cross.

Laws pertaining to the Priesthood were inteded to be obeyed as long as there was a temple. They were suspended when the Babylonians destroyed the temple, and resumed when the temple was rebuilt. Even after Christ went to the cross, Peter and John wen to the temple (Acts 3:1) at the time of prayer. The time of prayer was when a daily sacrifice, as commanded in Lev. and Num, was being offered. By going to the temple and praying, they were in a way participating in the sacrifice as much as they could since they were not Levites.

In Acts 21 James encouraged Paul to participate in animal sacrifices in order to prove that he wasn't teaching against Old Testament Law, but that Paul actually obeyed OT Law! In 25:8 Paul says, "I have commited no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar."

Just curious who here gives tithes to the church? and who thinks they're obeying Malachi 3:8 or something? Tithing is totally tied to the temple. Tithes go to the levites, and some goes to the poor.

Then there are laws such as the ones you mentioned that no longer apply because they were given to show Israel's separation from the unclean gentile nations around them. At the time, Israel was the only nation that served the true and living God. As such, God gave them symbolic laws to help them to discern they were a unique and separate people. The laws concerning unclean foods were for this purpose and had nothing to do with issues of a healthy diet as some claim. The vision in Acts does show that the gentile nations were made clean through faith in Christ, but also shows us the reason for the dietary laws in the first place. When we hold to such laws, we are in a way denying the gentiles have been made clean. When we are free to eat whatever is sold in the market place as the New Testament teaches, we are acknowledging the gentiles have found acceptance along with the descendants of Abraham.

The only laws from the Old Testament that we need to be concerned with are those dealing with God's standards of holiness, such as the 10 commandments which you made mention of already. It is no more ok to steal, kill, bear false witness, etc. today, than it was in Moses's day.

OT Law doesn't call Gentiles unclean. Pharisees and man-made laws called Gentiles unclean. Separation and holy are very related words. So, sure the food laws separated/ made holy Israel. If we are to be concerned with the laws dealing with God's standard of holiness, then we need to be concerned with food laws. Leviticus 11, which is about the food laws, twice contains the phrase, "Be holy for I am holy." Interesting that Lev 11 commands God's people to properly distinguish between clean and unclean, something that most of the Jews of Jesus' day were not doing when they called Gentiles unclean and called corrupt religious leaders clean.

If I can eat anything sold in the marketplace, then can I eat Comet, Dawn, plastic cups, etc.? Lev 11 defines what is edible and inedible (see verse 47). In the vocabulary of someone in Paul's day who read their Bible and went to "church" pig and shrimp are animals, they are not food.

10 Commandments: Sabbath anyone?

[Smalcald]

Christ Himself said that whatever enters the digestive tract does not defile a person. This would include food or non-food, or however we may want to twist wording to justify a works based self-righteousness. But on your example, eating plastic cups or non-food, may not be the smartest thing to do in the world, but it is not a sin. The same would go for shrimp or pork or anything else you may want to designate as

[Christ's Free Servant]

I am going to do something that is a little unusual for me on here, and that is to be lighthearted. I can be, really! When I consider the OT laws, I am just so thankful God created me in this century. They had so many restrictions about women and such and women were more like property back then, so I just thank my "lucky stars" that God chose to have me born in the second half of the 1900's (well, the very last day and last 6 hours of 1949, so almost). So, that is what I think about when I consider the OT laws. Well, I guess that was not all that lighthearted, huh? But, close!

As far as I know, God summed up all the laws in two - love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself, so if you follow those, then you'll be fine! He'll fill in the rest for you.