To what extent does the Law of Moses still apply?

Question

Matthew 5:17-18 (KJV)
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 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.

As I understand it, the Law of Moses is fulfilled in Christ. We don't make sacrifices anymore, and many other of the finer points in the Pentateuch are no longer preached.

Yet, I still see people reference these books for doctrine (for example the 10 Commandments).

How much of the Law of Moses still applies?

Answer 1

This was actually addressed pretty explicitly early on, and doesn't require all that much interpretation.

In Acts chapter 15, the apostles and elders of the church held a council to determine the answer to this exact question. When they reached an answer, they claimed it had the sanction of the Holy Ghost, so their answer is to be understood as divine counsel and not simply Peter's opinion.

Their proclamation was that it was important to observe the provisions against idol worship, fornication (all sexual sin) and eating blood, and that the rest of the Law had been fulfilled in Christ and "that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God" with the rest of it.

Answer 2

This is a difficult issue in many ways, although Mason makes a good point which is worth a lot of thought.

Jesus told us he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Certainly, the Jewish sacrificial system sees it's entire fulfillment in the work of the cross and is entirely voided and unnecessary as a result.

Paul explains that Christ came to set us free from the law of sin and death by living according to the Spirit instead of the flesh. However that leads to the question of what it means to live by the Spirit.

I have heard it explained that we are free from the law not in the sense that we can break it at will, but rather that our hearts become so aligned with it through the Holy Spirit that we no longer need that law in order to obey. If the law says "do not murder thy wife" and I have no desire to murder my wife then I do not need that law and I am in that sense free from it.

It's my opinion that...

Freedom from the consequences of the law are immediately applied to a person who confesses faith in Christ and follows him. But there's a sanctifying aspect that is worked out over time in which our hearts and wills are ever-increasingly conformed to that of Christ and we experience a consequent increasing freedom from the law as our inclination changes to please God - "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching" (John 14:23).

As a consequence, much of the legislative aspect of Mosaic law, per se, is obsoleted by the far simpler principles of (1) love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength, and (2) love your neighbor as yourself, which is the summation of all the Jewish law and prophets. The burden is shifted to the believer and the reformation of their heart under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit in community with the body of Christ, his church.

Thus, freedom in Christ is not freedom to do as we please, but freedom from the hold of sin and temptation thereof, in order to be able to ever-increasingly please him. And what pleases him is always perfectly right, true, good and just.

I think when we see legislation creeping back into the church, it's a sign of a shift from life in the Spirit to life under the law and that it's essentially displeasing to God. At the same time, it seems some people just need to have it spelled out for them; perhaps it's that they are immature in Christ, perhaps they just don't care for the responsibility that freedom brings. Perhaps it's a whole bunch of things.

So, in summation, I think the Mosaic law does not apply to the Christian body at all, but a much greater law of love does, which Jesus summed up as love God and love others.

Answer 3

There are many separate views to the matter. I'll try to list the most common ones, along with sources (at the end of each section). I'll first just describe the views briefly; the sources are available for those more interested.

Catholic

The Catholic Church teaches that the Law of Moses (the Old Law) is a preparation for the Gospel, and as such no longer binding. The New Law (the Law of Gospel) is a perfection of it, given through faith in Christ.

The Law of the Gospel is presented in the Sermon of the Mount (Matthew 5-7), but also in the moral catechesis of the apostolic teachings, such as Romans 12-15, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Colossians 3-4, Ephesians 4-5, etc.

God's Law has always remained the same, and has always been available as the natural moral law (e.g. through conscience), but only Jesus could express it perfectly.

Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second edition. Paragraphs 577-582 and 1950-1986. http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc2.htm

Reformed

The reformed teaching is that the law was given in three parts:

• The moral law, which God gave first to Adam, and later to Moses on Sinai (the Ten Commandments).
• Ceremonial laws, given to the people of Israel, prefiguring Christ.
• Judicial laws, given to the State of Israel.

The moral law is eternal, binding Adam, the first man, as well as any Christian today. Ceremonial laws were abolished in the New Testament. Judicial laws only concerned the State of Israel.

As noted, the moral law was delivered to Moses as the Ten Commandments. Thus the Ten Commandments apply to Christians today as such. Of other laws in the OT, the moral component applies.

Source: Westminster Confession, chapter XIX. http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/ch_XIX.html

Theonomy

Theonomy literally means "God's law". It is the notion that God's law is eternal and universally binding. That is, the entire Bible applies to Christians today.

This doesn't mean that salvation comes by keeping the law, as theonomy is often misrepresented. Salvation is granted "solely by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ".

Psalm 119:97-98 (KJV) is a good verse to show what theonomy is about:

O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.

Source: Duncan, T.M. Theonomy: What it is; what it is not. http://www.ipc.faithweb.com/documents/THEONOMY.htm

Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism makes a distinction between Israel and the Christian church in God's plan. Its major objective is to be able to interpret the Bible consistently literally.

Dispensationalists recognize seven dispensations in the Bible:

1. Innocence (Genesis 1:1–3:7)
2. Conscience (Genesis 3:8–8:22)
3. Human government (Genesis 9:1–11:32)
4. Promise (Genesis 12:1–Exodus 19:25)
5. Law (Exodus 20:1–Acts 2:4)
6. Grace (Acts 2:4–Revelation 20:3)
7. The millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6)

The different dispensations are different ways that God has related to people. Salvation has always been through faith.

As today's Christians are living during the dispensation of grace, or during the New Covenant, the old laws or the Old Covenant do not bind them. Because God and His will do not change, the moral law of the New Covenant hasn't notably changed from the Old Covenant.

Source: What is dispensationalism and is it biblical? http://www.gotquestions.org/dispensationalism.html ^{(I'd like to find a better/more original source)}