A lot of people today believe that the Old Testament is ancient history that has nothing to do with our lives today. Some Christians say that we don't need to follow the Old Testament laws because of Christ's sacrifice, and some non-Christians will say that we don't need to follow them because they're old fashioned "scare tactics" that Moses gave Israel in order to keep them in line.

In my opinion, based on God's word, neither of these views are true. I believe that God's word (even in the New Testament) shows that the ancient laws given to Moses by God are still necessary to follow today.

First of all, Jesus was sent to us by God for many reasons. The main ones are:
1) To die for us to remove our sins
2) To be an example for us.

I'm going to pick things up with #2. Jesus was our example. Everything Jesus did was from the heart of God and should be put into practice in our lives. One huge thing that Jesus did was overcome temptation. Matthew 4 tells the story of when Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Each time Satan tried to tempt Jesus, Jesus would respond by quoting the Old Testament laws. Here they are, for those of you not following along in your Bible:

"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4)

"Do not put the Lord your God to the test." (Matthew 4:7)

"Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." (Matthew 4:10)

By knowing and following these Old Testament laws, Jesus was able to defeat Satan and overcome the temptation, and something else special happened. Because Jesus overcame temptation by remembering God's laws, angels were sent to Him (Matthew 4:11 - "Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him")

Jesus even told us flat out that He did not come to abolish the law.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17

However, just because we should follow the law and obey what God has instructed us in the Old Testament DOES NOT mean that it is by following these that we win our way into Heaven. Even if we follow each and every one of them, we can't get in, because we have all broken at least one of them at one time or another. Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." It's only because Jesus was righteous and we have His Spirit living in us (assuming you're a Christian) that we can enter Heaven.

So why keep the law then? Why did Jesus seem to say it was so important to keep the law? Why did Jesus Himself obey the law? Because by obeying the law, you prove that you belong to God.

Matthew 12:33 says "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit."

Meaning, if you're truly a Christian, you will "bear fruit" that proves you are a Christian... just like an apple tree bears fruit that proves it's an apple tree. If you are a Christian, you love God and you love His law and you WANT to follow His law... not because it will save you, but because you want to honour Him.

Learn more about this author, Brad Norman.
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