Are We Still Under The Old Testament Law?

 It is impossible to establish the new covenant before the old covenant had been taken away. Since this is true, the Old Testament is not binding on those in the Christian era.

    Now we will present Scriptures, such as Matthew 25, Acts 17:30-31, that teach there will be a Judgment Day, which means that someone must judge by a set standard. If the law of Moses, the Ten Commandments, is still in effect, then Moses and Christ will be the judges, and will judge by the teachings of the Old and New Testaments. Paul in Acts 17:30-31, and Jesus in John 12:48, say that Christ will be the only Judge and His teachings will be the standard of judgment. In Romans 2:16, Paul says that Christ will judge and do so by the Gospel Paul preached. What Gospel did Paul preach? Galatians 1:11-12, tells us that Paul taught only what he received from Christ. These passages prove that when the new covenant came, the old passed away.

    At Jesus’ transfiguration, Matthew 17, Peter, James and John saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. In verse four, we hear Peter say, “Lord it as good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” What does Peter mean by saying they should build three tabernacles. Most likely he is saying, let us abide by the teachings of Moses. the prophets and Christ. But then, Heaven’s silence was broken and God proclaimed, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased Hear Him!”

    There was a time when the people were to hear Moses and the prophets (Luke 16:19-31), but when Christ came, they were to hear no teacher but Him.

In Ephesians 2:11-16 and Colossians 2:13-14, Paul says when Christ died, He has “broken down the middle wall of division” which separated the Jews and Gentiles, “taking it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Paul here is speaking of the old law. Then, in Romans 7:2, the Bible says that the wife is to be in subjection to her husbands for as long as he lives, but if he dies, she is released from his rule. In the next verse, we are told if the husband dies, she is free from his law and can marry another. She then would be subject to her new husband (Ephesians 5:22-24). Romans 7:4, tells us that as long as the old was in force, those to whom it was given were to be subject to it, but when Christ died, they were dead to that law. When Christ died, we were freed from the law, “that you may be married to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead...”. These Scriptures show that the old covenant was replaced by the new covenant given through Christ.

    Let’s look just a little further. Under the old covenant, all priest were to be from the tribe of Levi and from the lineage of Aaron. In Hebrews 6:20, the writer said that Christ, who was from the tribe of Judah, was made High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, but Hebrews 7:11-14, tells us that the law had to be changed before the priesthood could be changed. Then in Hebrews 7:18-19, the writer tells that the old law had been nullified. In Galatians 4:21-30, Paul teaches us that Hagar, the bondwoman, represented the old cov­enant and Sarah, the free woman, represented the new. He concludes in Galatians 4:31; “So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.”

    One final consideration, in Galatians 3:23, the word “faith” is synony­mous with the Gospel of Christ. Since this is true. Paul, speaking of himself and God’s children, said that before the Gospel came, they were “kept under guard by the law, “or old covenant. But, he then says that since faith has come, that we were no longer under the law (Galatians 3:23-25, please read).

I am not saying that the teachings of the Old Testament are not of God, every word found in the Bible came from God. The Scriptures have proven that the Old Testament was God’s law for ages past. When Christ came, this law was replaced by the Gospel of Christ, which is found in the New Testament.

 James Rankhorn