APPLYING THE LAW AS BELIEVERS

 

To be honest, there are two kinds of Bible passages I often skip when reading. First, the genealogies—those long lists of who was the father of whom and who was the son of so-and-so. Second, the rules and regulations in Exodus to Deuteronomy, which are often difficult to see the connection with today. Today, let’s take time to discuss these instructions, also known as the law of Moses, the Old Testament (OT) law, the Torah, or simply the law.

HOW SHOULD WE VIEW THE LAW TODAY?

1. It is fulfilled by Christ.

Jesus once said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt 5:17). Christ made it clear that He did not come to throw away the OT commands (the Law and the Prophets) but to fulfill them.

What does this mean? To fulfill is to complete or bring something to its intended purpose. Christ did what man could never do: He perfectly obeyed God’s law. He completed it. He finished it. Paul was right when he said, “Christ is the end of the law.” (Rom 10:4). He fulfilled it also by bringing the law to its intended purpose. The law was meant to lead people to the coming Messiah. When He came, the law’s role was finished (Gal 3:24–25). The writer of Hebrews said, “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.” (Heb 10:1). Paul also wrote, “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Col 2:17).

2. It is no longer our covenant with God.

Because the law was already fulfilled or completed by Christ, and since we belong to Him, it follows that we are no longer under obligation to fulfill it. Paul said that believers are no longer under law but under grace (Rom 6:14). We have died to the law (Rom 7:4). As believers, we are under a new and better agreement between God and man, which we call the New Covenant (Lk 22:20; Heb 8:13).

3. It remains a revelation from God.

Even though we are no longer under the OT law, it remains a revelation from God to man. “…the purpose of the covenant was to offer revelation. The old covenant has been superseded in that it no longer provides the framework for relating to God. It is still capable of providing revelation about the character of God.” (Walton and Hill, 2013). Through the OT, which was written by the prophets, God spoke in the past (Heb 1:1; 2 Pet 1:21). And even though Christ has come to reveal God more fully (Heb 1:2), the law still contains God’s revelation.

4. It is still inspired and applicable.

All Scripture is divine revelation, and therefore “God-breathed” or inspired (2 Tim 3:16). Since the NT was not yet complete at the time Paul said that all Scripture is inspired, it seems obvious that he was referring to the OT with all of its rules and regulations. Because all of these instructions are inspired by God, they remain “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

Regarding this, G. R. Osborne comments: “Christians must remember that the Old Testament is as much divine canon as the New Testament. As such, it is binding; the only question is in what sense is it binding.”.

HOW SHOULD WE APPLY THE LAW TODAY?

In what sense is the law binding? We should remember that, as believers, we uphold the law (Rom 3:31). If the time of the law has ended and we are no longer obligated to follow it, then how do we apply it? It seems confusing, right? These are still applicable—but most of them (if not all) are not in the same way as they were originally instructed. “We have to approach them as revelation of God (which they still are), not as rules for society (which they once were) or means of salvation (which they never were).” (Walton and Hill, 2013).

Scholars suggest that we follow the principles of transfer:

Ancient law → Abstraction/Principle/Revelation → Concept of God → Modern practice

Steps to Apply:

• Ancient Law: What does the passage actually say about the law?

• Abstraction, Principle, Revelation: How should the ancient Israelites have applied the law? What kind of law was it—ritual, family, society, criminal offense, etc.? What was its social function or impact on their community? What is the cultural and historical background of this law?

• Concept of God: What does the law reveal about God to them and to us? What values does God want His people to have?

• Modern Practice: How can we contextualize or apply the principles we learned from the law in our situation today? What verses, especially in the NT, relate or compare to it?

CASE STUDY: DEUTERONOMY 25:4

Ancient Law: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Meaning: Do not put a muzzle on the ox while it works in the field.

Abstraction, Principle, Revelation: Because the ancient Israelites depended on agriculture, oxen were important for their work. The law forbids muzzling the animal so that it can eat and benefit from its labor. Since the oxen carried out heavy tasks, they were to be allowed to eat from the grain they worked on.

Concept of God: God wants His people to treat animals with compassion. That’s why animals were also included in laws that protected people at that time (e.g., Deut 5:14, 21). God values their hard work and gave this law to prevent unfair treatment.

Modern Practice: Today, the modern application of this law is that we should value animals as well. We should make an effort to minimize the suffering of animals used for food or labor. Farmers can directly apply this law when possible. Caring for animals is an act of righteousness (Prov 12:10).

There’s also a broader principle here, as Paul himself applied it to church leaders. In the NT, Paul used this law to teach that church leaders deserve financial support from their churches (1 Tim 5:17–18; 1 Cor 9:7–9). If God wanted even the animals to benefit from their labor, how much more should those who serve Him in the church? This teaches us to treat people fairly and to give them what they deserve, especially when they work for it—just as God gave the Israelites instructions to treat their working animals fairly.

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This is just a short discussion, but I hope it helps. Let me end with this quote: “Yes, we no longer follow the food laws, purity regulations or sacrificial system, but they have not been abolished. They have been fulfilled in Christ, so we must determine their theological purposes and apply them to current situations. We need holiness and a proper relationship with God just as they did, and the legal regulations properly understood can help us center on those critical areas of the Christian life.” (Osborne, 2006). Stay Curious.

Sources and Studies:

Walton J., Hill. A. (2013). What are all these laws doing in my Bible if the law is obsolete?. 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 (2𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯). Zondervan
Osborne G. P. (2006). The Old Testament and the New Testament Saints.𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭: 𝘈 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (2𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯). InterVarsity Press
McCain D., Keener C. (2012). Interpreting the Law. 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴. African Christian Textbooks
Walton, J., Keener, C., (2016). See footnotes for Deut 25:4. 𝘕𝘐𝘝 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. Zondervan.
Sterrett, N.T. (1974). The Relation of the Old and New Testament. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. InterVarsity Press