My SOAP post yesterday brought a lot of questions to mind and I appreciate the responses I got.
I did a little more digging around in Matthew and here is what I’ve come up with:
Evidently the laws outlined in the Old Testament fall into three categories: ceremonial, civil and moral. The ceremonial laws were to guide worship and point to Jesus’ coming. The civil laws were to instill guidelines for daily living at the time. The moral laws were designed to reveal the nature of God.
The moral laws were those completely followed by Jesus and are expected to still be followed today by believers in our actions and hearts. However, it is not possible for us to follow those laws completely, and this is why Jesus was sent to die for our sins.
So now I guess in reading the Old Testament and in internalizing the laws presented, I must determine, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in which category a law falls before I can determine if I am expected to follow it today.
My confusion was in the fact that I was lumping everything together and consequently wondering why it is now okay to eat certain foods, not offer sacrifices for a number of reasons, and the like.
I’m a girl who likes specific guidelines and was getting confused as to what ones still apply (knowing that by grace I am saved. But I still should strive for pleasing the Lord. So I wouldn’t want to ignore something He did not want me to.)
I appreciate you hanging in here with me through all my questions. And I’d love your input on this interpretation, too. If I’m missing something, please let me know.
If you have more wisdom to share, or questions to present, please comment away. It is my desire that we can use this as a fourm to learn and grow together. There is only 1 (or 3, depending on how you look at it) true expert. But we can all strive to learn more together. And certainly some have a greater understanding than others.
Thanks, again,
Leave a Reply