Christians and the Old Testament Law

Did Jesus destroy the law of the Old Testament? This is one of the key questions for New Testament Christians to be able to answer and comprehend. Most Christians, if surveyed, would say that we are not under obligation to fulfill the Law; they would argue that Christ’s death freed us from the Law. Yet if we look at Jesus’ own words, He said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” So, are Christians under a biblical obligation to fulfill the commands of the Old Testament or are we free from the bond of the Law.

The fact is that Jesus did not come to annihilate or destroy the law. The Greek word pleroo, translated in the NIV as “fulfill,” means to make complete or perfect. After saying that He came to fulfill the law, Jesus continued on to explain His words. He gave real-life examples in explaining to His disciples that He was making the Law complete by moving the standard of the Law from the realm of actions to the realm of the heart. This is why the standard, according to Jesus, was no longer the outer actions of murder and adultery but the inner actions of hatred and lust.

Jesus fulfilled the 613 laws of the Old Testament with the Law of Christ. When asked what the most important commandments were, Jesus responded by saying that the first was to “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Through the shedding of His blood, Christ fulfilled the regulations of the Old Covenant and instituted this fulfillment of the Law (Hebrews 9:16-22); the Law of Christ. The Law of Christ was capable of summing up the entire 613 laws of the Old Testament, which were a loving delineation of loving God and neighbor. Christ freed us from those regulations and enabled us to live love through freedom rather than obligation. Truly, “love is the fulfillment of the Law” (Romans 13:10b).

This means that Christians are not bound by any of the regulations of the Old Covenant, including the much-loved Ten Commandments. If part of the Law does not apply to believers, then none of it does. Yet, I would contend that the Law is still in effect in our world today. If this seems like a contradiction, just hang on and keep reading.

As stated earlier, Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law. In fact, He references the Law in His conversation with the rich young man (Mark 10:19-23). Why would Jesus use something that He was coming to fulfill, and in effect, make useless. Paul gives a clue when He reminded Timothy that “the law is good if one uses it properly” (1 Timothy 1:8). He goes on in verse 9, to state that the Law is not for the righteous, but for sinners. It is through the law that we become conscious of sin (Romans 3:20b). Paul explains in the book of Romans that without the Law, he would not have the ability to know what sin is (Romans 7:7-8). In his letter to the Galatians, Paul states that the Law is our schoolmaster that brings us to faith, and ultimately, salvation. It is clear, then, that Jesus was using the Law to convict the rich young man of his son. He was using the Law as a mirror to show him how short He had fallen short of God’s glory. He was using the Law as a teacher to point him towards the grace and love of God that he so desperately needed.

The truth is that Christians are not bound by the Old Covenant Law. (It is only the Law of Christ which is to Love God with all of our heart sould mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourself. This is actually a much higher standard than the Old Covenant but that is outside the realm of this particular article). The Law, when used properly, is still in effect but only for the unrighteous as a tool to bring them to faith. In Romans 6:1-13, Paul reminds his readers that they have been saved and baptized into Christ. Once that happened, they were no longer “under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14b). The sad irony is that many Christians live as though they are still under the Law and must earn their salvation, while the unsaved, those that are still under the standard of the Law, live as though they are under grace.