One of the questions frequently asked is, "Doesn't Christianity do away with a lot of the laws of the Old Testament?" For example observing the Old Testament Sabbath (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) which is part of the 10 commandments, and laws such as eating Kosher meats. The question is, "why has Christianity abandoned these laws, despite the fact that Jesus said that He had not come to destroy or abolish the law?"

This is indeed a good question. If Christ said He came not to destroy the law, why don't we still observe the Old Testament laws? The answer is, we do! We continue to observe those laws in Christ who fulfilled (completed) them. When we consider all of scripture, in context, it is clear that Jesus spoke of his death insuring that the law have no more condemnation over us.

    Matthew 5:17

• "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

• For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

It is true that Christ did not come to destroy or to abolish the law or the Prophets. Every jot and tittle or last letter of the law is still in effect, but Jesus makes it very clear that what He came to do, is to FULFILL them.

Fulfill: ful.fil', v.i.-fulfilled, fulfilling. [a compound of full and fill; O.E. fullfyllan.]
(1) To accomplish or to carry into effect, as a Prophecy or a Promise; (2) to meet or satisfy the requirements; (3) to bring to a finish or completion; (4) to bring the conditions of a law to realization; (5)to bring to a consummation.
-ful.fil.er, n.--ful.fill.ment, ful.fil.ment, An act of fulfilling; condition of being accomplished.

By fulfilling the law Christ satisfied it's requirements in our place. In other words, the 'required' obedience is accomplished in Him. Therefore, in Christ do we keep all the law faithfully, and cannot be accused. In this way, we are no longer judged by any of the everlasting laws, for we are under the Grace of God. The law doesn't condemn us.

    1st Corinthians 15:56

• "The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law."

    Romans 8:1-2

• "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

• For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death".

    An example would be the Old Testament seventh day Sabbath which looked forward to Messiah our "Rest" wherein we cease from our own works, is fulfilled or completed in Christ. It is through His works that we will enter into rest, and cease from the requirement of our works. Without the good works, we would have been condemned by the law, but because of Christ Jesus and His good works, we rest from our works in Him. The Old Testament rest of the Sabbath looked forward to this Grace, wherein we cease from works. Therefore, it being fulfilled, we would no more rest on the seventh day Sabbath as we would sacrifice a lamb on an altar, or put the blood on the door posts. And for the exact same reasons. That everlasting law has not be abrogated, it is fulfilled in the blood of Christ whom it was the shadow of. We can't arbitrarily take one law of sacrificing a Lamb and say we must keep this one, while discarding all the other Old Testament laws which God clearly said were also everlasting laws. We have to keep all the laws or keep none. With men this is impossible, but with God it is.

    James 2:10

• "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all".

In other words, if we're going to keep old testament laws, we better keep all of them. Which of course is impossible, except in Christ! What christian today follows the Old Testament law of going to Jerusalem three times a year? That's the law of God! What christian follows the law of splashing blood on the door posts? That also is the law of God. But you see, there are some groups who want to pick and choose (depending upon their traditions) what Old Testament laws they want to keep, and not keep. But the law isn't a salad bar where we take what we want, and leave the rest. If we are indebted to one law, we're indebted to all the laws. Thank God Christ fulfilled "all" the law, and that includes the law of God's Sabbath rest! This is illustrated for us in passages like Hebrews 4:1-11. That rest is the Kingdom of God! We keep the everlasting Sabbath by being in Christ, our Sabbath of Rest. Our completion (7) of the sojourn is in Him. The seventh day Sabbath was a shadow looking forward to Him! And with the coming of Him (the True), the shadow preceding this Real is passed away. The requirement of the Old Testament law is then satisfied. i.e., Christ came not to do away with the law, but to satisfy it. He came to bring the conditions of the law into completion. ..to fulfill it!

Likewise, the laws concerning unclean meats which were an illustration that nothing unclean was to come unto the children of Israel, was completed in Christ. With the New Testament, that veil of mystery concerning it has been lifted for us. "The Old Testament concealed is the New Testament revealed!" If one does not accept the Authority of the New Testament, then the Old Testament is still concealed to them. The fact is, the Gentiles "were" seen as heathen Dogs and Swine, unclean animals! Those Old Testament laws illustrated that the Children of God were not to mingle with them. Jesus himself used that very same language for Gentiles in,

    Mark 7:27

• "But Jesus said unto her, Let the Children first be filled, for it is not meet to take the Children's bread, and cast it unto dogs."

God told the Children of Israel that the Heathen nations that they possessed were "unclean" and they were not to mingle with them. The Gentiles were generally unsaved, and God was using the unclean animals as a "type" whereof the Children of Israel were not to partake of their doctrines and traditions, but separate themselves from them. They were not to partake of these people's meats. This is why the unclean meats were let down unto Peter three times (3, signifying God's Purpose) to include the gentiles as Children of God. It is explained in Acts 10:28.

    Acts 10:28

• "And He said unto them, ye know that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation, But God Hath Showed Me that I should not call any man common or Unclean!"

Of course, if one is not born of God from above and doesn't accept the Revealing of the Old Testament by the New Testament, then these Words of God ring hollow. But the Truth is, the Gentiles were "generally" the unsaved, and as such were pictured by God as the unclean Dogs and Swine. Again, this is seen when Jesus talks about the unsaved and unrepentant in verses such as,

    Matthew 7:6

• "Give not that which is Holy unto the Dogs. Neither cast ye your pearls before Swine, lest they trample them under foot, and turn again and rend you."

These are unsaved people, and they are spoken of as unclean animals. God knows what he is doing and saying, even when we do not. This isn't incidental or coincidental language. It's God breathed and significant! The law of unclean animals is not done away with, it is "still" kept in Christ. The difference is that Christ has made the unclean, Clean! i.e., Jesus made the Gentiles clean and they could now come unto Israel. This can be understood by looking at verses such as Acts 11:6-9 where Peter sees a basket of unclean meats, and will not eat, but God corrects him saying, what He has Cleansed, don't call it unclean! Then it is explained that this illustrated that Salvation was not only to Israel, but was to go to the Gentiles as well. This is not speculative teachings about unclean meats, it's what God has written there. It's not what goes into the mouth that makes one unclean, it's what comes out of it. Out of the Gentiles mouths came the unclean meats or doctrines. But now they are as the unclean meats, made Clean by God. The Gentiles would now also come with the Word of God! And what God has now cleansed, call that not unclean!

We keep this Kosher law, not in the Old Testament ceremonial rejecting of some meats, but in the New Testament fulfillment of realized significations! The Clean and unclean law is fulfilled (kept) by Christ making clean what was unclean. What literal meat we eat does not defile us, it's what spiritual meats we eat that defile us.

    Matthew 15:11

• "not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."

Eating swine does not defile a man, eating, and repeating the doctrines of carnality does. Just as Jesus said, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees (matthew 16:11-12). He's not talking about "bad bread," He was talking about their doctrines. Unless we understand these Spiritual truths, we miss the whole point of eating clean and unclean things. The law is intact, but the unclean has been made clean by Christ so that there is no transgression of the law.

So once again we see that Christianity does not teach that the law is done away with, it teaches that the law is fulfilled in Christ. The Coming of Jesus makes it lawful to eat the meats that the old testament forbade, because that law looked forward to Christ, who hath fulfilled the requirement. We are not transgressing the law because God has cleansed what was before unclean. And we don't call the meat God has Cleansed, common or unclean! For we know it's not about meats for the belly, it's about unclean men and their doctrines. Just as we know it's not about Slaughtered lambs (animals) or their blood on a post, it's about Christ and his blood on us! The very same principle of "types" applies. As the Old Testament law of sacrifice clearly talked about animals, but applied to Christ. As the Old Testament law saying we had to go to Jerusalem three times a year referred to going to literal Jerusalem, but applied to the purpose (3) of Christ our Holy City. As the law where we couldn't plant two different kinds of seed in a field or as were the law of circumcision, and so on, and so forth. They are all not done away with, but fulfilled in Christ who they shadowed. They all looked forward to the Coming of Christ. Circumcision is still required, but it is those who are circumcised in Heart by Christ, the fulfillment of that law. These are the true Children of God, not those circumcised in the flesh! So why would we want to put ourselves back under the "BONDAGE" of the law, when Christ has fulfilled it that it does not condemn us?

Those who rely on observing the Old testament law are still under the curse, for it is written:

    Galatians 3:10

• "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them"

Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." Not their own, but the faith of Christ! The law is not based on faith, it's based on works of obedience. And by the works of the law, shall no one of earth will ever be Saved.

    Galatians 2:16

• "knowing that a man is not justified by the Works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be Saved!"

By the Work of Christ are we saved, not the works of our obeying the law. In Him, we have our rest from our works. If we could keep the Old Testament law ourselves, we wouldn't need Christ! But no man could! So Christ fulfilled the law by redeeming us from the curse of the law. He became a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who hangeth on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

If we are truly Saved, we are not condemned by the laws that God gave to Israel. Jesus took care of that--it was the whole point of His life and death. If His atonement was sufficient (and it was) then the Old Testament law holds no condemnation for us. Jesus Himself told us very clearly in,

    Matthew 22:37-40

• "..Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

• This is the first and great commandment.

• And the second is like unto it, thy shalt Love thy neighbor as thyself.

• On these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophets.

If you Love God with all your heart and mind, that Love will manifest itself in your faithfulness to His Holy Word, and the surrender of your will to his will. Thus you will Love your neighbor and you will work towards His salvation, your desire being that he experience that same Salvation that you have. This is the Love of God and neighbor! Upon these commandments hang all the law! The Love in the faith of Christ, wherein He first loved us. The Love wherein the law is accomplished in Him.