Why do Christians obey some Old Testament laws and not others?
By Will Bourne · Question 26
The direct answer
Christians generally understand the law through Jesus and the new covenant, rather than treating every command to ancient Israel as a direct command to the church. That is a real interpretive framework. It still needs to be applied consistently instead of used to excuse selective obedience.
Fuller explanation
The law includes worship, food, land, family relationships, justice, and community life. These are not always separated into the tidy categories later Christians use. The familiar division into moral, ceremonial, and civil laws can help explain an approach, but the text does not label each command that way.
Acts 15 records a dispute over whether Gentile believers must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses. The decision does not impose the whole law on them. Galatians also challenges making circumcision the condition of belonging. Hebrews discusses the significance of Christ for priesthood and sacrifice. These are reasons within the New Testament for a changed relationship to the law.
That does not make the Old Testament irrelevant. Its commands still teach about God, Israel, human responsibility, and the story Christians believe Jesus fulfills. The question is how a command carries authority now, not simply whether a reader finds it useful or uncomfortable.
Christians disagree about particular applications, including the Sabbath and some food practices. If someone uses an ancient law to direct another person’s life, ask which covenant it belongs to, how the New Testament treats it, and why that application follows. Quoting a verse does not complete the argument.
The objection we still need to face
Is this a complicated way to keep the rules Christians like?
It can become that when the method changes to suit the desired conclusion. A credible interpretation states its principles and allows them to be tested across difficult examples. We should be able to explain both why a command still binds and why another does not, without treating personal preference as the deciding factor.
Scripture and its use
Matthew 5:17–20; Acts 15:1–29; Galatians 5:1–6; Hebrews 8:6–13; Romans 14:1–6
Read these passages in their surrounding chapters alongside the explanation.