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The second question asks How do we know what laws apply to us from the Old Testament? This is an interesting question, with several different parts to the answer.

First, we should identify the purpose of the law. Gal 3:24-25 says that the law is to teach us and be our guide until the coming of Christ, when He will take over as our teacher and guide. We also learn in Mathew 5:17 that Jesus did not come to change the law, but to fulfill it until it all comes true. Does this mean that Christians are to obey all the laws the Ancient Hebrews were to subscribe to? Let’s find out.

There are three sections to the law. The moral laws (which are primarily comprised ot the Ten Commandments), ceremonial law (sacrifices, types of worship, etc.), and dietary laws, which consists of laws dictating which foods can be eaten on how they are to be prepared.

I’m going to answer these questions in reverse order, as this order seems like the easiest to answer. In Acts 10:11-15, God tells Peter that all the animals have been cleansed and pronounced clean, and that we defile His creation be considering parts of it unclean. Also in Romans 14:14-15 it is reaffirmed that no food is clean or unclean, but that we should not tempt someone who is following the dietary laws by eating these food in from of them (so you shouldn’t bring pork chops to your Jewish friend’s picnic).

The ceremonial laws are also pretty easy to dispatch, simply by looking at Hebrews 10:11-12. In this passage we learn that Jesus fulfilled these laws of sacrifice by making the ultimate sacrifice for us. In short, His sacrifice makes all sacrifices of animals and other things obsolete.

Finally, we come ot the most important section: the moral law. We know as Christians we are clled to be moral, to follow the teachings of our Lord and Saviour. But are these the same morals? In Galatians 5:14 Jesus says that the whole law is summed up in the concept of loving your neighbor as yourself, which in essence is the Ten Commandments. And in Galatians 5:18, we learn that if you let your actions be guided by the Holy Spirit, you cannot err.

So in conclusion my brothers, we have learned that Jesus may have fulfilled the dietary and ceremonial laws by His sacrifice, but we are still beholden to the laws of morality. The good news is, we can simply look to one simple principle, the principle of love, to rule and guide our lives according to the precepts of His will.