Is the Law of Moses Valid for today?

[Devanna]

OP, you are definitely free to follow some of the OT laws if you wish. It is not required to be saved and we are not required (as Christians) to follow those laws but if you find following the dietary laws has improved your health then good for you.

The only thing I would caution you against is pride. I've known of other people who thought following some of the laws was a good idea for them and it morphed into harshly judging others who didn't do what they did. We should never allow something that personally works for one person (following some OT laws) to lead to a violation of what God specifically wrote to all of us (i.e. Christians don't be proud).

[soliloquy]

Agree.

Mark 7New King James Version (NKJV)

Defilement Comes from Within

7 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now when[a] they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.

5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”

6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
7 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’[b]
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men[c] —the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”

9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’;[d] and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’[e] 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

14 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”[f]

17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”[g] 20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

Romans 14:13-23English Standard Version (ESV)

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.[a] 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.[b]

[nleamons]

Yes. I do agree that the New Testament is most concerned about salvation. But neither does it give outright permission to disregard the Law of Moses. There are situations in which, it might be permissible to partake of forbidden foods i.e. If you are a guest somewhere and there are no other choices available. It would be better to partake of the meal to avoid offending your host. But I think that would be a rare occurrence indeed. But within your own house, you have the responsibility to respect God's wisdom behind the Law of Moses be you Christian or Jewish. That isn't to say that all things apply to every person or to every group. And the Law of Moses certainly does not apply to an unbeliever, who is a Gentile i.e. a stranger. But remember that becoming a Jew begins at the heart. Romans 2:28. Therefore as Christians, we are held to a much higher standard than these people as we are responsible for living a life of love and a life of fulfilling Biblical prophecy. This is the most important part of striving to keep the Law of Moses through Christ, our Lord! See Hebrews 8:8-10: For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:" -- > The previous scripture is a direct quote of Jeremiah 31:31-34. All scripture is given to learn from so that we can purify ourselves both physically and spiritually. 2 Cor 7:1. "For I the Lord, do not change. Malachi 3:6

However, the Law of Moses does not determine salvation as the Counsel of Jerusalem rightly concluded. Acts 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judæa taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. So the apostles clearly stated that our salvation is in now way connected to be obedient to the Law of Moses.

It is true that many Christians do not leave a good example to those strangers among us. Be they Atheist, Agnostic, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, etc. By the way, my agnostic Co-worker and I get along very well. And yes many Christians ignore the harder sections of the Bible to please their desires. Although the root of the problem arises with the leaders of the current churches that care more about quantity than quality.

Of course, the Law will be fulfilled when all things come to pass and when Earth and Heaven pass away. Matt 5:17-20. "one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." As I stated before, in order for prophecy to be fulfilled, the Law of Moses must be remembered. If I fail to fulfill prophecy as a Christian, what right do I have to call myself a Christian? Following the Old Testament laws isn't about what we do, but about what Christ can do through us. No. It is an outward sign of our visible Christian faith that comes from the change in our inner hearts. Is the best way that I can show my love to our creator, the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob, and the God of Isaac. Neither are these things in Lev 19:19 that out of ordinary as I have found out from work. A shirt with mixed fibers is more likely to tear. The only forbidden here is the mixing of wool with cotton as in being interwoven. But though it is certainly better to have garments of some sort to wear.

And I certainly do agree that one shouldn't be prideful about following the Law of Moses. That is when we fall into spiritual defilement, which was the point of Mark 7:1-23 and Matthew 15:10-15 and not about what we could eat. The correct rendition of these verses should be using the word purging. Which is a discussion of how our body digests food. But we most certainly should judge with a righteous judgment and that is we should know all the facts before we can rightly correct another Christian. The issue that the apostles had with the religious leaders of their time were adding extra-biblical rules to how believers should apply the wisdom of the Bible to their lives.

As a Christian, I simply cannot be a part of fulfilling the Malachi 4:4 prophecy "to remember the Law of Moses"; if I choose to eat pork and other forbidden foods. So be wise my friends and learn that everyone can make a difference in this world.

Peace

[Jojoba]

About a year and a half ago, I mentioned that I, a Christian do my best to follow the Law of Moses. As far as salvation goes, I am saved by my faith. But through my faith, I produce good works to please God, the Father that I might be faithful to him by acknowledging God in all my paths. There is a secondary approach through alternative health that supports the Bible at least as far as the Dietary Laws go and that are concerned with the various meats available in today's market. In a way, I am into alternative health as one of my various hobbies.

So now to answer, the question: Why I do try to keep the Law of Moses? For one, there is an important prophecy that will one day be fulfilled: Malachi 4:4

"Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments."

As well as:

Zech 14:16 "And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. "

Albeit not every command in the Law of Moses applies to everyone. But some are very important to follow in today's time and in the near future.

Then I also learned of this scripture, Exodus 15:26: "and said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee."

But also consider:

2 Cor 7:1 "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

You may also want to read: Jer 31:31-34, Matt 5, Romans 7, Acts 15, Acts 10, 1 Tim 4:5

Here is what I have discovered since radically changing my lifestyle. Generally speaking, I never get burned out from work and I usually have abundant energy. Also, I rarely catch colds anymore, but if I do they are very light colds. And well now, I smile all the time too!

Therefore, I have made a choice and have joined the greatest revival that is occurring world wide as people live the Bible to the best of their ability. But everyone has a right to free choice and believe what they will. Neither do I expect you to necessarily agree with my choices as I might not agree with your choices in life.

Peace,


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Well, I believe that obvious rules, like the Ten Commandments, are something you still follow, but when Jesus came to earth, it meant that we no longer had to do all the sacrifice and rituals required since He came to be the final sacrifice for our sin. So lots of things in the Law of Moses, like no eating pork or sacrificing animals, are no longer needed in order to be saved.

[nleamons]

Indeed. As far as salvation goes, the rituals are completed. But at some point, I believe prophecy indicates that will be some sort of sacrifices again. I have not done an in-depth study on this. As Paul himself clearly argued that our salvation is independent of the law. Rather through our hearts, we will show evidence of our salvation by keeping; the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses. But as for me and my house will serve the Lord, so help me God! It is a journey of a lifetime not something to be done in one day. The purpose of the Law of Moses is God's greatest gift to mankind as far as health is concerned. But it is a joy to live according to the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses see Psalm 119 and not a burden as many have been led to believe. Now, in my opinion; God’s idea of biblically kosher isn’t nearly as strict as the Jewish kosher of today. I believe that the Jewish people usually go above and beyond what the Bible’s guidelines are pertaining to one's best option for staying in the best health possible. I do admire them for that! It may seem as though eating; this way would be expensive. But remember that it is better to eat than to starve. So we should do, what we are able to afford in order to keep the Law of Moses according to God’s direction in our hearts. However, I do not eat Jewish kosher, but I have taken to soaking my clean meats in salt water to drain, the excess blood and if able, I remove the excess fat. But if I am in someone's else's house; I may be obliged to eat in a less strict manner in order to not offend my host. But if I am able to afford going out to eat; I am very particular in where I eat and what I choose to eat. But because I do this, I know that God will not put the diseases of Egypt upon me. See Exodus 15:26 In essence, I tend to eat vegetarian albeit it is necessary to eat meat in order to compensate for my intense manual labor employment at the moment. Feel free to PM for a better understanding of why I now honor God by keeping the Law of Moses to the best of my ability. Remember, we are to love God, just as much as we should be loving our neighbors as ourselves.

[dmjacobsen]

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[soliloquy]

Well, I believe that obvious rules, like the Ten Commandments, are something you still follow, but when Jesus came to earth, it meant that we no longer had to do all the sacrifice and rituals required since He came to be the final sacrifice for our sin. So lots of things in the Law of Moses, like no eating pork or sacrificing animals, are no longer needed in order to be saved.

The sacrifices and rituals were never for the gentiles. They were for the Jewish people. We are not required to keep them. Any "rule" we need to keep was repeated in the New Testament. We also have to be careful not to fall into a state of legalism because that can be a stumbling block for others.

[nleamons]

Are the sacrifices just for the Jewish people or were the sacrifices intended to be for all nations of the Earth? Did not Rahab save the spies and join herself unto Israel? Did not Ruth leave her homeland to live with here Mother-in-law, Naomi? But we know that there is one law unto the homeborn and unto the stranger that sojurneth among thee. Exodus 12:49 and also see Isaiah 56. We see that one, the person has to make a choice to serve God with all they've got. Nor should they be someone; who hears the word, but fails to do it. See James 1;22-24, See Romans 2:12-16 For those of us that believe, the bar is raised higher to maintain a good standard of living as the Bible clearly illustrates.