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Mastermind wrote:Didn't Jesus fulfill the old laws? Which, if I understand correctly, means the old testament does not necessarily apply to us.
Yes He did fulfill the old Law. So the Jewish way of life need not be adhered to, but nevertheless basic moral principles certainly still apply. So in essence don't break one of the ten commandments, but chow down on that pork at will if you so choose.
Mastermind wrote:Didn't Jesus fulfill the old laws? Which, if I understand correctly, means the old testament does not necessarily apply to us.
What Felgar said, but also laws do not comprise the whole OT. In reality they only seem to comprise a small section of it. Additionally we have Jesus and the Apostles quoting Scripture along side of their claims as well as to back them up. Thus, if they gave OT Scripture an authoritative role, then Christians should also.
Kurieuo.
"Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)
Mastermind wrote:Didn't Jesus fulfill the old laws? Which, if I understand correctly, means the old testament does not necessarily apply to us.
What Felgar said, but also laws do not comprise the whole OT. In reality they only seem to comprise a small section of it. Additionally we have Jesus and the Apostles quoting Scripture along side of their claims as well as to back them up. Thus, if they gave OT Scripture an authoritative role, then Christians should also.
Kurieuo.
Good point Kurieuo. If I'm not mistaken the book of Romans quotes the OT many, many times. And really Romans is like "Christianity in a nutshell."
Romans 13:9
The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
As we know Jesus gave the highest 2 commandments of all - love God and love your neighbour. Paul points out just for super-clarity that these two laws are really just Jesus' reinforcement of the original commandments.
pls explain a little more: how can the OT not really apply to us then? i understand that Jesus fulfilled it.. but something doesn't make sense, coz then one can use the same argument to say well the NT doesn't really apply coz recent discoveries show that a group of greedy powerful men disguised as priests chose which parts of the bible to make available to the public, and which parts to not... (also sarcastic) I don't really understand this concept... Also pls tell me if it's true that there are 73 books in the catholic version of the bible and 66 in the protestant version... and which version the NIV stems from.
sorry, maybe i'm missing something here? I guess the confusion comes in where it's okay to compromise some parts, and not others because its the old testament? isn't it discriminating?
The only part of the OT which we are not under is the law of Moses. The reason being that Jesus is our righteousness by fulfilling the law - we don't ignore it; its just than with Jesus, we are a step further - the final one.
The law is still important to us since it shows us the need for grace. It also shows us God's way of thinking - useful in our journey of being changed into the image of Christ. The law also makes the understanding of some spiritual aspects of Christianity much simpler - like using analogies.
The rest of the OT, which is the majority, speaks to our times directly. The prophecies, writings and history are important to understand the merits of God's justice and mercy. He is always the same.
The message in the testaments is simple - Frustrate God's mercy and you will find His judgement.