why don't christians follow the rules in the old testatment?(such as eating kosher, and keeping shabbat)?

Answer 1

Well...

As for keeping the kosher law, that is Rabbinical tradition.

The Dietary Laws which are part of the Clean/Unclean section of Leviticus were declared null and void as a whole by Christ when he declared all things clean because of his purifying sacrifice...
Acts 10:
9About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."

14"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."

15The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

16This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

As for Keeping Shabbat, Christ states that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. The Sabbath is to be a day of rest, not necessarily the way that many Orthodox Jews take it, as a day where no physical activity is allowed.
Matthew 2:
23One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

25He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."

27Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

I suggest reading the book Understanding Christian Theology. It gives a good overview of most Christian doctrines and theologies which should help you to understand why we believe what we believe.

Answer 2

Leviticus chapter 11 lists the dietary restrictions God gave to the nation of Israel. The dietary rules were never intended to apply to anyone other than Israel. Jesus later declares all foods clean (Mark 7:19). God gave the apostle Peter a vision in which He declares concerning formerly unclean animals, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15). When Jesus died on the cross, He put an end to the Old Testament law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:24-26; Ephesians 2:15). This includes the laws regarding clean and unclean foods

The Sabbath was given to Israel, not the church. The Sabbath is still Saturday, not Sunday, and has never been changed. But the Sabbath is part of the Old Testament Law, and Christians are free from the bondage of the Law (Galatians 4:1-26; Romans 6:14). Sabbath keeping is not required of the Christian—be it Saturday or Sunday. The first day of the week, Sunday, the Lord's Day (Revelation 1:10) celebrates the New Creation, with Christ as our resurrected Head. We are not obligated to follow the Mosaic Sabbath—resting, but are now free to follow the risen Christ—serving. The Apostle Paul said that each individual Christian should decide whether to observe a Sabbath rest, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5). We are to worship God every day, not just on Saturday or Sunday.

Recommended Resource: Why Church Matters: Worship, Ministry, and Mission in Practice by Jonathan R. Wilson.

Answer 3

Because Christians now live under Grace; Grace will one day stop from existing and that will be the end. Jesus said that if we are to follow one law as in the Law we stand in trial if we break one of those laws. I am not saying that we do not follow what Jesus told us---Love they God..... and to Love one another...... now if you interpret these two "new" rules both cover all the Laws---can you see how we are still to follow a set of rules but not the Law as in eating kosher and keeping the sabbath----most Christians attend worship on Sundays; still some prefer to attend their place of worship on a different day.

Answer 4

Christians are under grace, not law. The Old Testament laws were for a particular people, at a particular time and place. And to be technical, the Jews are not keeping their laws either since they haven't been able to make sacrifices since 70 AD. If keeping these laws, especially the sacrificial system, were so important to God after the resurrection, why did He allow the temple to be destroyed, basically destroying the sacrificial system?

Joh 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Rom 6:14 For your sin shall not lord it over you, for you are not under Law, but under grace.

Gal 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness is through Law, then Christ died without cause.

Answer 5

Because as any truthful person will admit, No one can keep the Law. So God sent Jesus into the world to fulfill the law by being born of a virgin, leading a sinless life and being made a sacrifice for us.

In effect, we keep the law through Christ who kept it for us. My spirit rejoices after the law for it is perfect, however I find sin still within my members(body) The flesh still desires the things of this world while my spirit seeks after the things of God. It is a life long struggle between body and spirit know as the dualtiy of man.

Answer 6

Christians are Gentiles, except for some Messianic Jews (whole other topic there). The Mosaic Law was directed at Jews. Non-Jews were not expected to keep kosher, etc. unless they wished to convert, is my understanding. We are connected to the Jewish people because they gave us Jesus, but we do not live under the Law.

Answer 7

As for kosher foods Jesus said that it is no longer the food that shows if you are clean or unclean and as for shabbat most of us either aren't educated in Jewish holidays or just dont care too muh about jewish traditions.

Answer 8

I dunno and it is a great question. I love to do those things myself. Not for my salvation, mind you, but to honor the things that I feel really please God. He never really said that we were to stop. as far as the offerings of Burnt sacrifices are concerned? Yes jesus was our last sacrifice but what about the other stuff? yep I think it is also a great teaching and reminding tool of God's greatness as well as His grace to celebrate these things.

So when do ya' wanna get together? Friday night is coming up. I know a good Messianic Christian fellowship we can go to celebrate the beginning of the Sabbath.

God Bless!

Answer 9

I appreciate your question and as a Born Again believer I will do my best to answer it. As far as following the laws in the Old Testament, I am not required to do so. What is required of me is accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and submitting to His Lordship in my life. By submitting to Christ Jesus, He will cause the Holy Spirit to perform His works in me. That is the difference between Christianity and other religious belief systems. We accept Christ by faith and are found righteous by God for doing so. Then Christ causes us to perform His works to further His kingdom. We take no credit for these works we do, rather, we give all Praise and Glory to God Almighty for producing His works through us.
We do not strive to do "works" to please God, we simply submit to God and allow Him to do His works in us.
If we all decided to be teachers, who would care for the poor? If we all cared for the poor, who would teach? God has assigned "works" for all of us, some different, some the same, but it is His choosing as to what we do to further His Glorious Kingdom. We are simply tools in the hand of God, He says "Go" and we go, we do not decide which "works" we will do, God decides. Many are confused about Christianity when we say we are no longer under the law.
We are not under the law, rather, we are under Gods direction, saved by grace, through Christ Jesus.
In no way do we throw out the Old Testament, we simply have Christ Jesus in control and not the letter of the law.
I hope this helps you to understand this better.
God Bless You...Peace.

Answer 10

Christ completed the work of the Old Testament. The age of the Law is over, and we are under Grace. It doesn't mean we are absolved of everything the Old Testament teaches, but we are absolved of a lot of it. In terms of the dietary laws, for instance, God has specifically laid those aside. Read about Peter's dream in the book of Acts.