How Does the OT Apply to Christians?

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I. The Issue / the Nature of the Problem:

• Q: How does the Old Testament apply to Christians?

• A: The answer to this question is not always obvious.

On the one hand, much of the Old Testament can be read at a common-sense level, and its application to Christians seems fairly self-evident. For example:

The Pentateuch sets forth the foundations: God is the creator; He is good and is powerful. He has revealed his moral law to us. Ultimately, He will rescue and bless those who honor and obey him, and he will judge those who scorn and reject him and his righteous will.

The historical books show these basic principles worked out in action in the life of Israel and her kings.

The prophets likewise call on us to live lives that are honoring to God, and assure us that judgment and/or blessing pivot on our choices.

The Psalms certainly call upon us to worship Yahweh alone as God, and to live uprightly before him. They constantly contrast the righteous to the wicked. And the timeless value of the wisdom in the book of Proverbs has been affirmed by generation after generation.

Yet on the other hand, there are many individual items that are either unclear, or even seem at odds with the spirit of the New Testament. Among them:

• Do the promises to Abraham apply to Christians? Many Christians would say “yes.” Then is the Law binding upon Christians? Most Christians would say “no.”

  But how can Christians claim the blessings of the Old Testament, yet not accept the burden of the Law? It seems a bit too convenient.

• If “the land is promised to Israel” (as Christians commonly say) – Then will all Israelites inherit it? ↔ Will only Israelites inherit it?

• Leviticus 25:20-22 says that they should let the land go fallow every 7th year, and that God will give them a triple crop (!) on the 6th year. Does this apply to modern Christian farmers?

• Is it true that conservative Christians ‘pick-and-choose’ what we take literally from the Old Testament? Is it true that we apply some things literally, but choose to ignore others?

   For example: If conservative Christians take the statements condemning homosexual acts literally, then why do they pretty much ignore passages like Deut 21:18-21, which command that stubborn & rebellious sons be taken to the gates of the city, condemned, and then stoned to death? Also, should we put witches to death? (Exod 22:18, KJV).
  

• And what to make of those ‘imprecatory’ psalms? (= psalms that invite God’s judgment upon people)

  “May their backs be bent forever! Charge them with crime upon crime!” (Ps 69:23, 27)

  “Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions!” (Ps 58:6)

  These things sound more like what you would expect from a Samurai warrior than from a Christian.

• Is the Old Testament God a God of wrath? In the New Testament, is God a God of grace and mercy? But isn’t God “the same yesterday, today, and forever?”

It is fair to say that how the Old Testament applies to Christians is not obvious at first glance.

II. Some Preliminary Observations:

A. Some things change between the testaments, but not everything.

It is clear that some things have changed between the NT and the OT. Two examples:

1. Jesus declared all foods clean; Mark 7:14-23.

2. We no longer have to offer up the sacrifices required in the OT by the Sinai covenant. Hebrews 8-10, esp. 8:3-13; 9:1-10; 10:1-4+11-18

   But does the NT simply set aside the OT? Has everything changed? No!

   • Mark 7:1-13
   • 2 Tim 3:15-16

Further, the NT often quotes the OT to explain a matter. Both Jesus and the apostles appeal to the ongoing authority of the Old Testament. So no, not everything has changed; the NT does not set aside the OT. ↔ However(!), some interpreters think that the Sermon on the Mount does set aside the OT.

Q: Does the Sermon on the Mount set aside the OT?

One NT passage almost sounds like it sets aside the OT. It is Matt 5:21-48, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7), in which Jesus says, “You have heard … but I say …”, six times. But does this mean Jesus is setting aside the OT? No. Here is why:

1. Just before that very passage, Jesus explicitly says:

   “Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.” (Matt 5:17-20)

2. And if we closely examine the six verses in which Jesus says, “You have heard it said … but I say …”, we see that Jesus is not(!) refuting or setting aside an OT teaching. Rather, he is correcting a mistaken idea associated with the OT passage mentioned.

   It is important to note the specific words Jesus uses. Jesus says, “You have heard it said … but

   I say …”. Jesus never says, “It stands written … but I say …”. Jesus does not set aside the OT.

In Sum: So yes, some things change between the testaments. But no, the New Testament never completely sets aside the Old Testament.

B. An Initial Practical Recommendation:

If the New Testament is clear on something, and the Old Testament is not, then stay with the New Testament guidance until you understand the OT passages better.

C. A Guaranteed Benefit from Reading the Old Testament:

Even though there are items that are difficult to know what to do with (at first!), nonetheless, the following are guaranteed benefits from reading the Old Testament:

1. What the OT teaches about: God’s nature & character is true, because God does not change.

2. What the OT teaches about: what God wants from us is true, because God does not change.

III. The Key to Understanding How the OT Applies to Christians: The OT Covenants

A. The New Testament Refers to the OT Covenants Often:

The New Testament itself often refers to the covenants in the Old Testament. It does so when it is explaining what does and doesn’t carry over to the New Testament / to Christians. A few examples:

• Luke 1:32-33

  The promises to David.

• Luke 1:69-73

  The promises to David; the promises to Abraham.

• Acts 3:24-26

  The promises to Abraham.

• Acts 13:32-39

  The promises to Abraham; the promises to David.

• Romans 4, & 15:8,9

  The promises to Abraham.

• Gal 3:6-29 & 4:21–31

  The promises to Abraham.

• Hebrews 6:13-20

  The promises / the oath sworn to Abraham.

• Hebrews ch. 8

  The new covenant.

We looked at the five main covenants in some detail in H/O #09 (“The Five Main Covenants in the OT”). We are now ready to summarize how they do, or do not, apply to Christians. The two which are the most important for Christians are: (1) the covenant with Abraham, and (2) the Sinai covenant. We will address the five covenants in the order they appear in the Bible.

B. The Covenant with Noah

As noted in H/O #09, The main provision of the covenant with Noah (that God will never again destroy the world with a flood) applies to all human beings, whether they are Israelites, Gentiles, believers or unbelievers, Christians or non-Christians. There is nothing that Christians need to do, or not do, for this covenant, in & of itself. So in terms of figuring out what in the OT does, and does not, apply to Christians, we may move on to the other OT covenants.

C. The Covenant with Abraham / with Abraham and his seed.

The promises to Abraham & his seed not utterly unconditional; they are conditional (see Gen 18:19; Gen 22:1518; Gen 26:5). To receive the blessings, a person must have faith like Abraham’s faith; a person must be a true believer. But there is a guarantee that someone will(!) be blessed by them.

Galatians 3 & 4 make it clear that all true believers, whether Jewish or Gentile, are Abraham’s seed. That is, all true believers are Abraham’s children, are heirs to the promises. Romans 4 likewise affirms that Christians will inherit the blessings promised to Abraham. Romans 4 tells us that Abraham is the spiritual father of us all = of all true believers. The covenant with Abraham applies to Christians. Christians will inherit the blessings promised to Abraham.

D. The Sinai Covenant

The Sinai covenant was with Israel as-a-nation. It began at Mt. Sinai and ended because Israel broke it (Jer 31:32). It probably ended when the 2nd Temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70 (as Jesus predicted, Matt 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6). Here is how the Sinai covenant (the Law) does, and does not, apply to Christians.

To Begin with: Christians are not under the Sinai Covenant.

Christians are not under the Sinai covenant for two reasons:

1. We never were; it was with Israelas-a-nation.
2. The Sinai covenant is over; it has ended.

In Specific, Christians are not bound by the Ceremonial Laws of the Sinai Covenant.

In particular, Christians are not bound by the food or the ‘cleanness’ restrictions; Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19; Rom 14:20). Also, we are not required to bring the sacrifices described in Leviticus (Hebrews 10:14–18). We are not bound by the ‘ceremonial’ aspects of the law.

Similarly, Christians are not bound by the Civil and Criminal Laws of the Sinai Covenant.

Christians are not bound by the civil & criminal penalties set forth in the law. For OT Israel, the civil & criminal laws were their governing laws. But Christians obey the laws of the governments they live under (Rom 13:1-7; unless those laws are directly counter to the commands of God, Acts 5:29).

God has not(!) offered to Christians, to the Church, the specific earthly blessings He offered to Israel under the Sinai covenant.

Just as Christians are not bound by the requirements of the Sinai covenant, so neither can we claim the blessings which were offered to Israel uniquely under the Sinai covenant. In particular:

God promised Israel health and prosperity if they honored him and obeyed the laws of the Sinai covenant. But such a promise is not repeated anywhere to Christians in the New Testament.

There are Christians who preach that if you honor God well, and give him your tithe faithfully, God will make you rich. But they are mis-reading the OT badly, and are applying statements to Christians that were addressed to Israel under the Law (for example, Malachi 3:10).

Nonetheless, Christians may still benefit from the study of these laws.

Even though the civil and ceremonial laws of the Sinai covenant are not binding upon Christians, there is still benefit in the study of these laws, because they increase our understanding of God’s nature and desires. And they can teach us something of God’s logic; they can teach us his views of how things ought to be. So even though such laws do not bind us, they can still teach us.

But what about the moral aspects of the Law?

Many of the laws express the moral will of God: honor your father and mother; do not steal; do not murder; etc. If Christians are not under the Sinai covenant, do these moral laws still apply to us? Yes!

The moral law of God reflects God’s unchanging nature and character. It was in effect before Israel entered into the Sinai covenant, it remained in effect during the Sinai covenant, and is still in effect today. The moral law does not change → because God’s nature & character do not change.

Therefore any believer who seeks to honor God should study and reflect on the Law, especially the moral laws within the Law, to help inform them of what God is like and what He desires. And when God flatly says that something is right and good, or that something is wicked or is an abomination, it does not change.

In fact, nine of the Ten Commandments are expressly re-affirmed in the New Testament.

Can you guess which one is not? __ .

It is because the Sabbath is the sign of the Sinai covenant (Exod 20:8-11; 31:12-17). When the early Christian church moved its day of worship from the Sabbath (Saturday) to the first day of the week (Sunday), this had very large symbolic significance. Israel was absolutely required to keep the Sabbath under the Sinai covenant; Christians are not.

E. The Covenant with David and his Son

This covenant is not actually with Israel, nor is it with Christians. It is with David and his Son. So Christians do not inherit the blessings promised to David’s Son (we will not rule on David’s throne forever, etc.). The ultimate Son of David is called “the anointed” = the Messiah. In the NT, this Son of David is called “the Christ.” [“Christ” and “Messiah” both mean “anointed one”.]

However, Christians will benefit from this covenant. Jeremiah 33 and Ezek 37 teach us that the Son of David is the one who will rule over God’s kingdom and will shepherd Abraham’s children in the promised land forever. Further, it is his death which will pay for our sins and also will inaugurate the new covenant.

F. The New Covenant

Those who truly believe the gospel have their sins fully forgiven and have the law written on their hearts. The new covenant clearly applies to all Christians, automatically.

IV. Summary: How Does the Old Testament apply to Christians?

• Christians will inherit the promises to Abraham = the Abrahamic covenant.

  Those who truly believe the gospel, whether Jew or Gentile, are rightly called children of Abraham. Thus Christians will inherit the blessings promised to Abraham. We will be part of the ‘great nation’, and will inherit the land promised to Abraham and his seed, along with believing Jews.

• Christians are not under the Sinai covenant.

  In specific, we are not bound by the civil or the ceremonial & sacrificial laws of the Law.

  We do not have to observe the ‘cleanness’ rules or the food restrictions. We do not need to offer animal sacrifices.

• But the laws which express the moral will of God are binding on Christians, because those laws reflect the unchanging nature and character of God. They were true before the Sinai covenant, during it, and after it. They are still true today, and will be true in heaven.

When in doubt, Christians should follow a clear NT teaching over an unclear OT text. But we would suggest that when one understands the OT well, there is no contradiction of principle. God’s nature and character do not change: He always seeks those who will serve him faithfully from the heart. And for those who fail, the sacrifice God desires remains a broken and contrite heart (Ps 51:17).