Are we bound by the Old Covenant Law?

This exact question came up in the first century and was brought to the Apostles by Paul. It was decided then and should not be debated at all today, that in short, the Ten Commandments and all of the Mosiac covenant do not apply to gentiles today and never have.

A verse from Jesus says yes, but the passage says no

In Matthew Chapter 5 verse 18 Jesus says that the Law will not pass away until all is accomplished; that makes it seem as if the Ten Commandments or, in fact, the entire Mosiac Law will be in effect until after Judgement Day, or the Day of The Lord. The Mosiac Law is contained in the first five books of the Bible (collectively known as the Pentateuch); Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. However, we need to take the entire passage together, Matt 5:17-20, not take just one line and hang our theological point on it to dry.

If we take the entire passage as one we find that Jesus is saying that the Law and the Prophets will be fulfilled through Him and that through Him they are fulfilled at His death ( on the cross Jesus says, “It is finished” ) and yet continue in a new and enhanced form through His teachings. To continue with the Mosiac Law and to stay stuck in the Prophets of old is to remain relaxed with the commandments. Jesus made each of the Ten Commandments more expansive and all-encompassing than they had been perceived up to that point. 

Jesus’ rabbinical context says gentiles have never been under the Law

Additionally, we need to look at the context Jesus was in and was using when he said this. He was talking to exclusively Jews, in a rabbinical context. He wasn’t addressing gentiles. Rabbinic Judaism has always held that the Mosiac laws do not apply to non-Jews, but that the Noahide laws do. The Noahide laws are the laws derived from God’s saving humanity from the Nephilim by using a worldwide flood in the book of Genesis. Those laws are:

• Not to worship idols.
• Not to curse God.
• To establish courts of justice.
• Not to commit murder.
• Not to commit adultery, bestiality, or sexual immorality*.
• Not to steal.
• Not to eat flesh torn from a living animal.

*Sexual immorality is any non-consensual sexual act; this includes pederasty, as a minor cannot give fully informed and unintimidated (noncoerced) consent to an adult.

Paul references the Ten Commandments several times

Paul when writing to the church at Rome in Romans 13 references the Ten Commandments when talking about when living in obedience to God looks like. Contrary to common belief Paul did not say that obeying the Ten Commandments is how we fulfill the Love your neighbor as yourself command. Quite the opposite, Paul writes: “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:9(end) Keeping the Law does not fulfill the command to love, keeping the law to love will, by default, fulfill the law.

In his first letter to Timothy Paul says that the law is good if it is used lawfully. Which means that the law is not good in and of itself, the law is neutral; it simply exists. If the law is used lawfully, then it is good. Well, if we are to avoid circular logic we can’t use the law as the arbiter of what is lawful use. Therefore Paul must be talking about Jesus’ commandments as the arbiter for what is lawful use. Love the Lord your God; Love Others is the arbiter, so if we do these then keeping the law is good. Paul even states in verse 9 that the law is not for the just, but for the unjust. If we are following Jesus’ commands we are just and the Ten Commandments do not apply to us.

What about the other 603 laws in the Pentateuch?

There are 613 laws in the Pentateuch. They are all, in context, teach us something about either God or our relationship with others. They all make up the Old Covenant Law and do not apply to New Covenant people. Unless you want to take up that Covenant, which is your right to do. It is not true, however, that the Old Covenant is required for anyone to adhere to. If it were Jesus wouldn’t have needed 3 years of ministry to show us His Covenant.

Jesus talks about the Ten Commandments and makes them harder

What about the fact that Jesus referenced the Ten Commandments several times, you may ask. Well, he was talking to people that knew the references and he was explaining that their understanding of them was lacking and needed to be expanded. In the case of the rich young ruler when Jesus listed following the Ten Commandments as how to enter the Kingdom of Heaven that wasn’t enough for the young man to be allowed to enter. He needed to be perfect, which means mature in faith, sell everything he owned giving it all to the poor, and then follow Jesus.

It really is a settled matter; the Apostles said no

The early church dealt with this issue and settled it. We can see this in Acts chapter 15 and it should be the final say on it. Acts 15:19-21 and Acts 15:22-29. Here is the letter to the Gentiles from the Jerusalem council (emphasis added):

“The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

For clarity, even these restrictions aren’t considered commands. They were concessions to the Jewish converts who were still practicing the traditions of Judaism. The gentiles were being asked to respect the traditions of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. 

What use are the Ten Commandments

We hear from many leading pastors and preachers that the Ten Commandments are foundational, but they are looking at this upside down. Jesus’ commands are foundational. The Ten Commandments are built on them, not the other way round. If we focus on Jesus’ commands we will inevitably get the Ten right. However, for children in the faith, those still maturing, the Ten Commandments can serve as a way to come round to Jesus’ commands. Too many people, however, are left with only the Ten Commandments or are told that they are the most important commands when they aren’t. Jesus gave us the most important commandments – Love God, Love Others. If the Ten Commandments are getting the way of fulfilling those two, they are worse than useless. You can’t use the Ten Commandments as a checklist and be on the road to the gate to Heaven. The rich young ruler is an illustration of that.

So the bottom line is: We aren’t under the Mosiac Law

To put this in modern English from a western perspective: The Laws of Moses, the Law and the Prophets, do NOT apply to gentiles, which means any non-Jewish person who comes to Christ does not have to abide by ANY of the Law. The Old, or Mosiac, Covenant is not for gentiles, nor arguably for any follower of the Way of Jesus.