Question for Christians?? I'm getting conflicting answers...?

Question

Do you guys follow the old testament or not??

Some christians say you're supposed to obey the OT as well as the NT... some say only the NT, the OT is just for historical purposes

Some christians say you follow only Jesus's grace, some say Jesus actually teaches to follow the law before him...

And lastly, if you accept Jesus Christ and are saved by Grace, don't you still get to go to heaven if you don't follow the rules of the bible?

I've been getting such conflicting answers to these question, depending on the christian i ask...

Could someone clear this up for me?

Answer 1

that is what happens when man's hands alter the word of God...

Answer 2

Sadly, no, we can't clear that up for you. That's the deal with interpretable text.

The same passage in Matthew is used both to support using the OT and to oppose it. "Let not a letter of the law pass away until everything has been completed." Some say this means that until the end of the Apocolypse, Christians should obey the OT precepts. Others say that Christ death (when he said "it is finished") signified the end of the usefulness of the OT.

There are dozens of other verses that point in either direction.

I for one, believe that the Old Testament is there for more than just historical purposes. The 1st century church worked exclusively with text from the Old Testament. Jesus himself quotes the Old Testament frequently.

Without listening to the Old Testament, you lose the wisdom of Solomon and David. You lose the prophecies of Isaiah, Daniel, and the books that follow those. You lose and understanding of why Jesus was called "the lamb" or "the son of God" (it's not quite why you think) or why his death actually works as an atonement for sin. Heck, you lose what sin even is.

I do not, however, follow the Levitical code, since many of those things were expressly changed after Jesus's time on earth. Most of them were regarding physical issues such as food and ceremonial washings, as well as the need for animal sacrifice.

Jesus said that he came to fulfill the Law not abolish it. He talked in the famous Sermon on the Mount about how the Law had moved from external to internal. Murder included anger, and adultery included lust.

There is also the issue of salvation, if you can lose it, and when do you gain it. There is no direct answer. Some believe that salvation is a one time experience that can never be revoked, others think it is an instant experience but that it can be taken away, still others think that salvation is a process.

I personally believe that salvation, once attained, is irrevocable, but one that has been given salvation won't need to test that premise. Paul talks about "daily working out" his salvation, and James talks about showing his faith through his deeds. Neither say that works equal salvation, but both say that works are an indication of salvation. Scripture talks about a renewing of the mind and transforming of the heart being key to salvation, and someone who wantonly disobeys the "rules of the bible", as you put it, has not had a holy renewing or transformation.

You won't get a unified answer, mostly because there isn't one. "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out." (Prov 25:2)

My recommendation is to start reading, and figure it out yourself. Decide what makes the most sense to you from the text.

Answer 3

Old testament is the picture or shadows of things to come. Christ is the reality in the New testament. As what the book of Hebrews said, If the Old testament (covenant) is better, then certainly there would be no need for the new testament (covenant).

Heb 8:6 But now hath he (Christ) obtained a ministry the more excellent, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises.
Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second.

The old testament pictures what will Christ do for the salvation of mankind. After Christ's finished work, the new covenant commences. Such were the justification by grace through faith, and not of works which we have done.. But Christ's (Eph 2:8-9).

But why study the old testament? On the old testament, it pictures God's process of salvation through Christ, God's provisions for mankind and the nation Israel, etc.

Answer 4

That's something that has been debated since the Bible was canonized at the first council of Nicea.

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus makes the statement that he didn't come to abolish the levitical laws and the prophets but to fulfill them. Which as I intrepret that it means we are supposed to follow both the old and the new testaments. When a person studies further we do find that Jesus did make statements the repeal certain item within the law (like the dietary restrictions).

It's something that really requires study to understand but in a nutshelll Christians should follow both.

Answer 5

You have some very tough but good answers. Im no preacher but I'll try my best.

The Old Testament was from God to his first people. At this time you had to do other things to get into heaven then we did. For instance they had to give burnt offerings.

When Jesus came and died on the cross for our sins, God became the all-loving God. You can directly ask for fogiveness instead of the long rituals.

Some Old Testament rules still apply and cannot just be thrown out, such as the 10 commandments. The Old Testament helps to show sins not to be committed. The New Testament shows how to get to Heaven.

The Old Testament is for historical purposes, but not just that. There inspirational stories that we can relate to. They show how there faith in God led to great victories.

Finally you can just accept Jesus to get to Heaven. Although that is not the only thing you must do. When you accept him you decide to change behavioral sins. You also decide to try hard to be a better person and spread his word. Now if a "Christian" went out and shot someone, its another story. He could still get to Heaven through true repentence, but it must be true sorrow for that crime.

Hope that helps!

Answer 6

Members of the Church of Christ follow Christ's teachings. The OT is for us to learn from (Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:11), the NT is for us to live by. The 4 Gospels are the recounting of the ministry of Christ, Acts documents the beginning of His church, and from Romans to Revelation, that is the blueprint for Christian living.

Christ did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17, Luke 24:44). Everything in that law existed until His sacrifice on the cross.

If you are baptized into Christ, you have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27), and then you have to remain faithful to Christ (Acts 2:42, Revelation 2:10).

I hope this helps.

Answer 7

I see why you're confused. We are no longer under the old law. BUT the OT is still very useful, for understanding how things came to be and the value of the NT. Jesus fulfilled the Law. No one else can ever do that.
You don't 'follow' grace. You accept it. And by accepting that free gift, we are made eligible for Heaven.

Hope that helps.

Answer 8

The very first answer was quite accurate actually..

The OT is too violent, so many Christians disregard it so Christianity could never look like a violent religion. They cannot handle the facts that are in the OT, so they claim it is not to be followed, thus eliminating any controversy whether the Bible/Christianity is violent or not. They are too worried about losing Christians or not gaining enough converts. Yet then these same Christians go out picking on other religions about how violent they are, and their statements are almost always based on ignorance and hate and are untrue, or at least misleading, misconstrued, and the information taken out of context.

Answer 9

The debate of the scripture has caused many a fuss. It can and will and has always been interpreted a 1000 different ways.
Open yourself up for Jesus to guide you in your everyday life, he will convict you on what is right and wrong. Follow those convictions.
You do not even have to know how to read to be a child of God, saved and go to heaven, people complicate things by trying to justify their actions by using scripture. They try to comfort their guilt and convictions with scripture.

My personal belief with the OT is that is is there for examples but we need to keeps those examples in context of the times.

Jesus re-iterated how he wants us to be in the NT, he was the ultimate sacrifice. If a person lives word by word of the OT then they still need to have altars and sacrifice livestock.

One more thing Jesus brought the gentiles into Christianity, in the OT days gentiles were not considered worthy of salvation.

Answer 10

Would you like the Bible's answer?
Try Romans 15:4
"All the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction ......."
The OT can be divided into certain sections.
Jesus referred to the law, the prophets and the psalms.
Christians can benefit by reading and studying those sections.
The only side-bar is Christians are not obliged to follow the Law ....that is the Law of Moses, given to Israelites.
Romans 10:4 says that. So does
Ephesians 2:15
Colossians 2:14
Romans 7:6.

Answer 11

Jesus was the God of the Old Testament and the lawgiver. He was also the finisher of the ceremonies of the Law of Moses since he was the Great and Last Sacrifice. The basic commands against certain sins are still in force, but the mechanical rites and holidays and ceremonies can be kept or not (according to Paul we are not to judge one another on those things) Actually, Jesus took the commandments and "wrote them on our hearts" in other words our motives and our thoughts and intentions about those things are just as important as the acts. He also gave the motivation and reason for the laws were given us in the word "love". And we follow the commandments out of Love not Fear. And Jesus showed us that following them does not save us, it is only through His Grace we are saved.