Have you ever wondered why Christians don’t follow all of the Old Testament laws (see Lev5:5-6; 11:4,7; Deut22:11)? Maybe you’ve heard critics say we pick and choose which Bible verses to obey? If evangelicals claim all Scripture is the word of God, why do we eat bacon? In an effort to discredit Scripture, many detractors point out the “inconsistencies” of the Bible as they defend an issue Scripture forbids, usually homosexuality. As a pastor and student of theology, this is annoying because a basic theological study would resolve the issue.

I don’t expect non-believers to be experts in Christian theology, but if one uses theological arguments, they should at least understand it. So should we abstain from shrimp and repent or is there a reason we ignore some Old Testament laws?” Let’s take a look at some reasons why there may be some confusion surrounding Laws of Scripture.

Ceremonial Laws

The Old Testament thoroughly describes the various sacrifices offered in the tabernacle (and later temple) to atone for sin so that worshipers could approach a holy God. There was also an incredibly complex set of rules for ceremonial purity and cleanness. You could only approach God in worship if you ate certain foods and abstained from others, wore certain types of clothes, refrained from touching unclean objects, etc. God did this to demonstrate, unmistakably, that human beings are spiritually unclean and can’t go into God’s presence without purification.

Many Old Testament writers hinted that the sacrifices and the temple worship regulations pointed forward to something beyond them (cf. 1 Sam. 15:21–22; Pss. 50:12–15; 51:17; Hos. 6:6). When Christ appeared he declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19), and he ignored the Old Testament cleanliness laws in other ways, touching lepers and dead bodies.

When Jesus died the veil in the temple tore, representing that he had done away with the need for the entire sacrificial system, there was no longer a need for sacrifices or cleanliness laws because Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice and only he can cleanse humanity for good.

Moral Laws

Ceremony and cleansing were fulfilled by Jesus, but the laws concerning morality don’t deal with approaching God, they deal with his character, which does not change (integrity, love, and faithfulness). This means everything the Old Testament says about loving our neighbor, caring for the poor, generosity,sexuality, social relationships, and commitment to our family is still in force. The New Testament makes clear that moral laws remain intact, often times even quoting them (Romans 13:8). The New Covenant in Christ changed, as Tim Keller put it, “how we worship but not how we live”.The New Testament explains that sin remains, but the consequences have changed because of Jesus.

Wrap Up

Because of Jesus, ceremonial laws are no longer binding, but moral laws are clarified. The ceremonial laws could never remove sin, but Christ did. Accepting Jesus as the son of God who came to redeem mankind clarifies these positions while rejecting him just confuses the relationship between the two testaments of Scripture. This means we don’t have to worry about the cleanliness of food, but we do need to humbly submit to God’s character.