re a kind and loving god in article r hicinnjfj owl csrv uidaho edu lanph crow csrv uidaho edu rob lanphier writes malcolm lee mlee post royalroads ca wrote in reference to leviticus and deuteronomy these laws written for the israelites god s chosen people whom god had expressly set apart from the rest of the world the israelites were a direct witness to god s existence to disobey god after knowing that god is real would be an outright denial of god and therefore immediately punishable remember these laws were written for a different time and applied only to god s chosen people but jesus has changed all of that we are living in the age of grace sin is no longer immediately punishable by death there is repentance and there is salvation through our lord jesus christ and not just for a few chosen people salvation is available to everyone jew and gentile alike hmm for a book that only applied to the israelites deuteronomy jesus sure quoted it a lot mt in addition he alludes to it in several other places mt mk jn and just in case it isn t clear jesus thought the old testament isn t obsolete i ll repeat the verse in matthew which gets quoted on this group a lot do not think that i have come to abolish the law or the prophets i have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them i tell you the truth until heaven and earth disappear not the smallest letter not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven for i tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the pharisees and the teachers of the law you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven mt niv in pretty red letters so that you know it s jesus talking this causes a serious dilemma for christians who think the old testament doesn t apply to them i think that s why paul harvey likes quoting it so much rob lanphier lanph uidaho edu i will clarify my earlier quote god s laws were originally written for the israelites jesus changed that fact by now making the law applicable to all people not just the jews gentiles could be part of the kingdom of heaven through the saving grace of god i never said that the law was made obsolete by jesus if anything he clarified the law such as in that quote you made in the following verses jesus takes several portions of the law and expounds upon the law giving clearer meaning to what god intended if you ll notice he also reams into the pharisees for mucking up the law with their own contrived interpretations they knew every letter of the law and followed it with their heads but not their hearts that is why he points out that our righteousness must surpass that of the pharisees in order to be accepted into the kingdom of heaven people such as the pharisees are those who really go out of their way to debate about the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin they had become legalistic rule makers religious lawyers who practiced the letter of the law but never really believed in it i think you will agree with me that there are in today s world a lot of modern day pharisees who know the bible from end to end but do not believe in it what good is head knowledge if there is nothing in the heart christianity is not just a set of rules it s a lifestyle that changes one s perspectives and personal conduct and it demands obedience to god s will some people can live by it but many others cannot or will not that is their choice and i have to respect it because god respects it too god be with you malcolm lee
