Questions

[chris]

First a little backgroud on me since you will probably be seeing alot of questions. I grew up without ever going to chruch, my parents never discussed religion. My wife is a Christian and has been going since her early teens. I do believe in God, but don't think that any of the faiths have got it quite right. I don't consider myself any specific faith and I have not yet accept Jesus as my savior. I think its possible that the Christian faith is correct but I am not convinced that Christians are correct and all other faiths are incorrect about salvation.

I am going to church with my wife now and am trying to learn about the Christian faith. I tried to read the bible from cover to cover but lost interest in the Old Testament where they got in to the huge lists of names (not very far). So I will be ignorant on alot of things but I think I have most of the basic concepts down.

So, here is my question:

Why did God change the rules/laws from the Old Testament to the New Testment when Jesus came? I understand that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice and it was no longer necessary to do other sacrifices, but why did this change occur? Many rules in the old testament concerning punishments, rules, etc are contradicted in the new testament. Do any of the old rules apply since Jesus came or did only some of them get superceded?

There may not be an answer to this question. Or it might be "We cannot know the true meaning of what God does", but if there is, I would like to know. Most of my other big questions about the Christian faith are "why" questions like this, so be ready :).

-Chris

[Monsoon X]

Good gracious: You would have to ask a question that is very hard to get across on a keyboard. hahahahahhaa

Sheesh, where to start?

I'm gonna get very basic. And it should spawn more specific questions because the one you asked is very broad and encompasses alot of scripture(mainly from Romans and Galatians)

The Law didn't save, it made people aware of what Sin was. And under the law we were faced with God's judgement with no GRACE. With Jesus we now have grace. You understand the correlation between the animal sacrifices and Jesus' death.

You may ask "why didn't he just do that from the start"? Well God established himself in the Old Testament so we could move from a physical relationship with God to a Spiritual one.

The reason Jesus' teachings contradict the Law is because it's spiritual. Jesus went deeper than the Law went. LOVE IS THE KEY.

Keep asking questions in this thread because there is so much to say. The keyboard doesn't cut it, but I think the questions can be answered in a lengthy thread. :D

[chambers]

Chris,
I was in the same spot that you are currently in. I wanted to try and read the Bible, but I couldn't make heads or tales of it. My girlfriend at the time bought me a book called The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1576832899/qid=1028737428/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1554981-6387010). It's a good read, and helps to add new light to the passages in the Bible. I suggest that you read it, then read the corrisponding chapter in your Bible. It's not meant as a replacement, it's a paraphrase that makes reading the Bible a little easier to understand. I've got a copy that you're welcome to borrow if you'd like.

[Monsoon X]

BTW: I Tried to read from Genesis- I got to Psalms and stopped. (It got boring.)

And as far as the lists of names; I skipped 'em :)

[chambers]

Originally posted by Monsoon X
BTW: I Tried to read from Genesis- I got to Psalms and stopped. (It got boring.)

And as far as the lists of names; I skipped 'em :)

Psalms was pretty hard for me.. One of the things I did for that was set a number to read each morning and night. Worked well for me.

[Lane]

Chris, JC summed it up pretty well. And, like he said, in the OT, God was in a tent or way out of reach to all except a select few.

Now, through Jesus, we can have a personal relationship with God - which is what He longs for with everyone of us. This is key and, before Christ, this was not possible unless you were Elijah or Moses or one of the other prophets..

Being under OT law must have been a beating... Not to mention impossible to keep. Through Jesus, all our sins are covered by His blood. When God sees us(spiritually), He's sees His Son in us, or Jesus' blood covering us. No matter what sins we've committed or will commit IMO. And that as you know, does away with the sacrifices in the OT.

I was raised in a Christian home, but a very 'legalistic' one. One that focused on the law and not God's grace and gift through Jesus. In other words, I thought one had to earn your salvation. And, I didn't have a clue what a 'personal relationship with Christ' was like. It was all do's and don'ts... Realizing that Christ did it all for me at the Cross and that I couldn't do anything to add to or take away from it was very liberating.

Ephesians 2:8:

For by grace you have been saved through faith: and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works...

And as far as the law is concerned - when Jesus was asked "what is the most important law". He said "love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself". Do this and you'll be fine. :)

Hope this all makes sense... I was interrupted many times during writing it. Customers... :mad:;)

[Monsoon X]

Originally posted by Lane


And as far as the law is concerned - when Jesus was asked "what is the most important law". He said "love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself". Do this and you'll be fine. :)


....and when you excercise that LOVE there is no need for a "law" ANY LAW TO BE EXACT!! Just think about it.

If you Love God you will keep his commandments and the Fruit of the Spirit will abound (Galatians 5:22)

Chris- Here's you assignment for tonight:D Go to a Christian book store and ask for a Bible In Basic English then read Galatians ch.5 and tell me what you think about it

[Lane]

One other extremely important thing that I forgot(somehow) to mention is that the Holy Spirit is with us now when we accept Jesus. Jesus said "I will send you a Helper" John 14:16.. And actually, it's only through the HS that we can even understand and grasp the gospel. Plus, He gives us power to do and overcome many things. However, I don't pretend to understand all the power we have in the HS. Someday I will though, and my spiritual life will be a whole new ballgame. :)

In the OT, He was not available to everyone. I believe He was to a few prophets, but definitely not every Jew.

[The Punisher]

Galations 5 versus 16-26
Life by the Spirit

16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

[speedpro50]

I will add to what JC and Lane have said which I applaud u 2 guys on knowing THE Word!

Hebrews chapters 8-11 offer the best explanation of what God planned and Christ accomplished in His ministry here on earth and at Calvary. In the OT times the bridge between people and God was non-existant. You had priest (us - today) and the high priest (jesus) making sacrifices for the people's sin and their own. Jesus bridged the gap, atoned once and for all for poeple's sin, and is our high priest who entered once into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled His own blood on the Mercy Seat that all who have faith in Him would receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The bible makes it clear that the OT is still good for teaching, but the NT (new covenant - a promise or sealed contract) is better than the old. The mediator of the NT (Jesus Christ) fulfilled the LAW in all points (Hebrews 4:12-16) where humans could not.

Where you had the Age of LAW in the OT, in the NT you have the Age of Grace, where Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the law and God by the Holy Ghost has established His Church.

As Christians, we are not just humans but temples of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the 3rd person in the trinity, endwells each and every child of God. God has established us (christians) as human tabernacles, just as there were many tabernacles in the OT times (David's, Solomon's, tabernacle in the wilderness, etc.) The temple or tabernacle in the OT times was a place built by men's hands for God to dwell in (amongst His people). Jesus Christ said He wanted to dwell in His people. We are then human tabernacles made up of 3 parts (just like the trinity and the tabernacle of old) body (flesh), sould (mind, will and emotions), and spirit (Holy of Holies).

I hope this helps as I could go on and on. Let me know when you have other q's as I love to discuss these important doctrinal issues. It is good you are doing your homework Chris, as to many people today jump on the emotions band wagon and think they got saved when it was simply an emotional event meaning nothing. Faith is based on facts and the Word (work) of God.

Lee

[chris]

Thanks to you guys for your insight.

My initial thinking was that there was the OT laws, God decided that wasn't working and brought Jesus to the world. I know God is supposed to be perfect, so that didnt exactly fit.

I am still not sure I understand completely about the OT age of Law and the NT age of grace and all the differences and what exactly it means.

Along the same lines, is it written anywhere why Jesus came 2000 years ago as opposed to 5000 years ago or any other time?

The main thing that is confusing to me is all the terminology. I need a index of biblical terms thats initially explains them simply and then goes into more detail.

[Monsoon X]

As to why Jesus came 2k ago as opposed to 5k ago. I don't know. Maybe there was a certain reason, I haven't found yet. I'm not even sure it matters, (maybe to God it does?)


But I do know this. God, over the period of the time that the OT covers, He successfully rooted himself into the hearts and minds of a nation (Israel), then Jesus came to fufill (not abolish) the Law of the OT, then Jesus sent his apostles to let the Gentiles know that they can now be in a covenant with God also.

[MadKat]

The reason for the old law was to bring sin.
it was next to impossible to keep and everytime someone broke the law, the were stained with sin.

The wages of sin is death. not just physical, but spiritual, seperation from God.

In doing this God made a way to show his love.

By sending His son, alowing him to go through all the stuff He went through, and paying the price for "our" sins.
He showed us that He loves us more than we can understand.

I mean, does it make sense to you that He would want to live with a bunch of sinful imperfect people?

But He does. and He has provided a way.