Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

Applying the Old Testament Law Today By J. Daniel Hays

A Paper Submitted to Dr. Gary Schnittjer In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Course Old Testament Orientation I OBST 591-D07 LUO

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By Daniel S. Tomlinson

July 11, 2013

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Reflection In reconciling the New Testament verses of Matthew 5:17, which declares that the Jesus did not come to abolish the law and that the law is not passed, with Romans 7:1-6 and Galatians 3-4 in which Paul expounds on believers in Christ being dead to the law, one must consider the mission of Jesus. As the Bible reads, Jesus came to fulfill the law meaning that the existence of Christ fulfilled the purpose that the law was implemented for. The followers of Jesus are no longer under the yoke of lawful regulations as Acts 15:10 and Galatians 5:1 validate. With this understanding one can now view Galatians 3, with emphasis on the 13th verse that stresses the redemptive value of the blood of Christ. It is therefore appropriate for Paul to have written of believers being dead to the law, as seen in Romans 7:1-6, because the law has been rendered obsolete by the Cross, and yet the basic principles of the law are still in force for Christians today. The Old Testament laws may be maintained as principles and are representative of the fruit of a transformed life as opposed to a condition of salvation. Hays Approach of Principlism Utilizing Hays approach to principlism can be viewed while studying Exodus 22:25-27. These verses deal with the practice of lending and the rules that God placed around this act. This law protects the children of God by stating that the loaning of money should not include a charge of interest. Consequently consideration is required if borrowing things. In this passage a cloak is viewed as the only probable means of keeping warm and, therefore, in one borrows it they should return it before it is needed by the owner. One may view the differences of the audience of Moses and believers today to be great. This is not the case, however, due to the fact that Christians are called to be considerate of
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others. Christ says in Mark 12:31 you shall love your neighbor as yourself. It is therefore feasible to suggest that Jesus is extending the same consideration from His followers as is required of the audience that Exodus 22:25-27 is intended for. This universal principle transcends the Old Testament and still continues today regardless of culture. Christians today should practice the principle of Exodus 22:25-27 by being considerate of other believers in loving them as Christ instructs in Mark 12:31.

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Bibliography Craig, William Lane. God, Time, and Eternity: The Coherence of Theism II: Eternity. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001. Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears, Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010)

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