“For it seemed good to the HOLY SPIRIT, AND to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you ABSTAIN from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
There are many people today who have departed from the true faith and became spiritually shipwrecked. They exposed themselves to deceptive teachings in which biblical truths are distorted or denied. “Gentile Christians AND Jewish Christians are NOT under the Law of Moses” is a VERY sensitive issue that has been discussed, and OFTEN misunderstood over MANY centuries. The Christian church are divided, OFTEN because they IGNORE Biblical contexts, MISINTERPRETING the Law of Moses, the Ten Commandments AND the teachings of Jesus Christ; THIS leads to ignorance. Hopefully with THIS article we can clear up SOME misunderstandings.
The Law of Moses was a temporary ceremonial law that regulated the priesthood, sacrifices, rituals and meat and drink offerings. THIS law would ONLY be valid until Christ was crucified.(Galatians 3:16-3:19). The ritual and ceremony of Moses' law pointed forward to THAT day that Christ would be sacrificed on the cross as a once-off offering which would be acceptable unto God. When He died, THIS law became fulfilled…complete, but the Ten Commandments (GOD’S law) "stand fast for ever and ever." (Psalm 111:7-111:8).
The Law of Moses was NOT written for Christians, but for the Jews who continuously broke the law. The Ten Commandments on the other hand was written by God, that’s why it’s called GOD’S Law, and MUST be obeyed until the END of time, by both Jews AND Christians alike. Everything GOD ordered AND instituted MUST be kept sacred.
To understand WHY Paul made the statement that Christians are NOT under the Law of Moses, but under grace, let’s review the circumstances that INFLUENCED the context of his statement. The Law of Moses said that men were to be circumcised. The Jewish Christian believers of the time DEMANDED that converted gentiles should become Jews FIRST and be circumcised, if they were to be part of the body of Christ. Paul responded by saying that Jesus instituted a NEW covenant…the covenant of faith, love, mercy and forgiveness. THIS implied that Jewish believers were God’s people NOT because they were Jewish, but because they were believers. Furthermore Paul made the statement that ALL food are clean for consumption:” As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. (ROMANS 14:14). However, he quickly followed his statement up with the following: “13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will NEVER eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall. (1 Corinthians 8:13). This became SUCH a serious matter, that the apostles and the elders met in Jerusalem to get clarity on these issues (Acts 15:6).
Yet another example of poor interpretation of the word of God is found in Acts 10:11-15 “11 He (Peter) saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” MANY Christians interpret the Apostle Peter’s vision as an instruction from God that ALL food is clean and can be eaten. NOTHING can be further from the truth, because Acts 10: 28 provide the context that led to God’s instruction to Peter, that had NOTHING to do with food consumption: “28 He (Peter) said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile (People who was seen by the Jews as unclean and impure). But God has shown me (In the vision he had) that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.”
The Jerusalem assembly approached the issue from a totally DIFFERENT perspective. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us (circumcised Jews) and them (uncircumcised Gentiles), for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we NOR our ancestors have been able to bear?” (Acts15:7-10).
Peter reminded the people that God has used HIM to preach the gospel to Cornelius (One of the soldiers who crucified the Lord) and his family. Cornelius was NOT circumcised, because he was a gentile. Instead of using this fact, he rather focused on the foundations of salvation…believing….faith. “God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.” God gave the Holy Spirit to this uncircumcised family, because He purified their hearts, and called them holy and acceptable unto him, because of their faith.
Peter is expressing the opinion to the Jewish Christians that the Law of Moses was in MANY instances failing in its purpose, because not EVEN the Jews could keep them successfully. No matter HOW hard people TRIED to obey the laws, they could never be perfect. Works can never lead to salvation. Salvation is attained in a different way. We can’t earn it, so it has to be given to us by grace by God. The Law of Moses did NOT bring salvation, but judgement. Gentiles were saved by grace and SO were the Jewish believers. James was in complete agreement with Peter and Paul. “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God” (Acts 15:19). There was no NEED to require the yoke of Moses’ Law, for that would make things unnecessarily difficult for the gentile believers. He suggested that the ONLY Laws of Moses that gentile Christians SHOULD obey, were to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood” (Acts 15:20). Instead of making things difficult for the gentiles, these four rules would be enough.
In Romans 6:14-15 Paul makes the following statement: "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are NOT under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are NOT under the law, but under grace? God forbid." In anticipation that some will construe his words to mean that you can break the law because you are under grace, he says, "Shall we sin (break the law), because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid." In the strongest possible language Paul states that being under grace does NOT give a license to break the law. Yet this is exactly what millions believe today, and they totally ignore Paul's specific warning.
As far as eating and drinking of blood is concerned, THIS rule was NOT just a temporary law instituted by Moses, but a law of God. Moses just continued to carry out THIS law that was issued to Noah BY God, centuries BEFORE it was recorded in the Laws of Moses. In Genesis 9 Noah receives a covenant from the Lord. Part of the covenant removed the prior restrictions against eating meat, allowing Noah and his family to kill animals for food. However, the allowance came with this condition: “But you must NOT eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it” (Genesis 9:4)."But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication." (Acts15:20)
Nowhere in the Bible did God or ANY apostle OR elder change THIS condition which was issued to Noah by the Almighty. To make such assumptions based on out of context conclusions, misinterpretations of God’s word OR unsubstantiated allegations, is leading to greater confusion AND division in the body of Christ.
In conclusion we need to ask the question: “WHY is the Law of Moses NOT applicable to Christians today?” Out of a Biblical perspective the answer MUST be “For God SO loved the world that He gave His ONLY begotten son, so that whoever believed in Him should NOT parish but have EVERLASTING life.” (John 3:16). We must bear in mind that the Law of Moses has been added to the Law of God (Ten Commandments), because of the Jews’ continuous sin. They found it hard to keep the law. Secondly the Law of Moses had a limited lifespan. It would be fulfilled AFTER Christ died on the cross. A NEW law....the law of faith, mercy, salvation and forgiveness would replace Moses’ Law, that was harsh and UNFORGIVING….an “eye for an eye” law. If someone smacked me, I had the right to smack him back…if someone stole from me, his hand would be cut off…if a woman committed adultery, she would be killed.
Christians are NO longer living under the law, because they are living under God’s grace….the law of faith, mercy, salvation and forgiveness. In fact, Christian Jews are living under the SAME grace that was obtained by the death of Christ who took OUR curse and sins upon HIM. (Isaiah 53:1-5). He died in OUR place so that WE may live. There IS however a non-negotiable condition attached to THIS grace; we MUST accept Jesus as our Lord AND Saviour and become born-again in spirit…bear the fruit of the spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23).
