Way Truth Life Apologetics

(original post 19 Aug 2019)

Last week, as I wondered what the next post topic would be, I thought back on a conversation I had many years ago where my Christianity was challenged based on OT laws. My wife is from the Philippines and I was confronted with Deut 7:1-7, where Israel is commanded not to intermarry with non-Israelites. I was also questioned about if I wear clothing of mixed fibers (Deut 22:11), eat shrimp (Lev 11:10-11), do work on the Sabbath (Ex 35:2), etc. At the time, I didn’t have any sensible, reasonable response because I didn’t have as full an understanding of hermeneutics (how to study and interpret the Bible). As I thought on this situation, yesterday’s Sunday school class reinforced that this would be a good subject to speak towards.

There are two main points to this post: 1) the difference between 3 categories of laws and 2) the difference between prescription and description.

There are 3 different categories of law listed in the Bible, specifically the OT: moral laws, civil laws, and ceremonial / priestly laws. The Ten Commandments are an example of moral laws. God wrote with His own hand on two tablets how we are to relate to God (1-4) and how to relate to each other (5-10)—Jesus made this summary when questioned about which law was greatest (Matt 22:36-40). These laws were given to Israel while they sojourned in the wilderness for 40 years. Moral laws differ from the others in that they have universal application, that is they are for all people at all times; more on this later. Civil laws governed how ancient Israel was to survive and interact from day to day. The ceremonial / priestly laws dealt with how Israel was to worship God. Specifically, they were designed for Israel to stand out among all other civilizations and cultures; to be unique in the world. The ceremonial and civil laws apply to specific people, in specific situations, at a specific time in history.

This is where understanding of the difference between prescription and description come into play. Something that is prescriptive, has universal application—truths or statutes which transcend time and apply to all people for all time. Something that is descriptive is a record of what happened at a time in history; it does not have modern day application beyond teaching us what occurred in the past.

Here’s where these two points overlap: the civil and ceremonial laws of ancient Israel are descriptive—they don’t apply to us today and Christians are not under any presumption to follow. The moral law is prescriptive and transcends time and culture; Christians should strive to adhere to these laws out of love for God and a desire to honor and glorify Him by living accordingly. The Ten Commandments represent the OT moral law and are a special case for Christians. The NT church is not under a legal obligation to obey the Ten Commandments—they were given to ancient Israel. The caveat is this—when an OT statute / law is repeated or restated in the NT, it has modern application (it is prescriptive). Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the NT. The one which is not is “keeping the Sabbath.” Christians are under no obligation to keep the Sabbath (or the OT festivals) as Jesus is our Sabbath and came to “fulfill the law” (Matt 5:17).

What is important to understand is that Christians don’t follow God’s moral law out of a compulsion, like citizens do day-to-day in not breaking laws governments have imposed. Rather it is out of a desire to honor, revere, love, and express thanks to God for His grace and mercy in sacrificing Jesus to save and restore us to Him. What the OT describes is educational for Christians; we are able to see how even some of the simplest laws for Israel were easily broken, which illustrates the condition of man (depraved and bent towards evil) and our need for a Savior (Jesus, who kept all the laws and is righteous in God’s eyes).

Coming full circle–my Filipina wife is also a Christian (so we aren’t unequally yoked). We are able to enjoy bacon at breakfast and shrimp alfredo for lunch, while wearing polyester and cotton blended outfits. We do this without concern that we’ve upset God of that we’ll need to go to the temple and make sin offerings. If I knew then what I know now, the conversation 10+ years ago would have gone quite differently.

~In Christ