We continue our 2017 series examining each of the articles of the Belgic Confession, one of Faith Church’s confessions of faith.

Have you ever wondered why Christians do not follow all the regulations and ceremonies found in the Old Testament? If so, you are not alone, as the Reformed tradition has often discussed and looked at this question, using helpful distinctions in terms of the types of the laws that one finds in the Old Testament as well as the use of the law in the Old Testament to address this question. Before diving into the explanation of this topic in Article 25 of the Belgic Confession, it would be good to talk about a helpful way of thinking about the laws you find in the Old Testament. Scholars often divide these into three types: moral, civil, and ceremonial. Moral laws are things like the 10 Commandments that tell us how to live, while civil laws helped regulate the nation of Israel when it was an independent nation, and the ceremonial laws are those that discussed sacrifices and other sort of religious ceremonies (festivals, etc.).

The confession notes that these ceremonial laws are not followed today because of the work of Christ: “We believe that the ceremonies and symbols of the law have ended with the coming of Christ, and that all foreshadowings have come to an end, so that the use of them ought to be abolished among Christians. Yet the truth and substance of these things remain for us in Jesus Christ, in whom they have been fulfilled.” Jesus talks about how all Scripture points to him (see John 5:39, 46; Luke 24:27), and the Apostle Paul (Colossians 2:16-19) and writer to the Hebrews (Hebrews 10:1) speak about the ceremonies of the Old Testament law being shadows, with the body and fulfillment of these shadows being found in Christ and his work. Jesus himself said that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). We do not sacrifice for sins because Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. We do not have to observe purity laws – laws that were meant to shows us that in our natural estate, we are not pure – because in Christ we are made pure. Gentiles are not required to keep the food laws that were placed on Israel because of Acts 10-11, when Peter learned that all food is clean (as the food laws were speaking about a separation between the Jewish people and other nations, a division abolished in Christ) and because the apostles and elders decided, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, at the council in Jerusalem described in Acts 15 that Gentiles did not need to keep the food laws but avoid temple worship and idolatry (this connection to idolatry seems to link the regulations given to Gentiles there). The view that these ceremonial laws are no longer applicable is not something that the modern church has said because we don’t want to give up bacon or don’t want to get dirty in sacrifices, but because we see this idea that they were for a time and season that points us to Christ within the Bible itself. Once again, we let Scripture interpret Scripture!

While we do not follow the regulations that you find concerning sacrifices and purity that you see in the Old Testament, that does not mean that these parts of the Bible are useless, as the confession notes: “Nevertheless, we continue to use the witnesses drawn from the law and prophets to confirm us in the gospel and to regulate our lives with full integrity for the glory of God, according to the will of God.” This is where the various uses of the law that the Reformed tradition has discussed prove helpful, as the Reformed tradition will talk about how the Old Testament law reveals God’s nature, restrains evil, and also teaches us how to live. The Old Testament law continues to show us who God is, pointing us to his holiness and our sinfulness. Historically, the Reformed tradition has used the 10 Commandments and other passages to help prompt a call to confess our sins, as we see God’s holiness – a confession that leads to assurance that we are forgiven in Christ. The law thus can lead us to the forgiveness we need in Christ. Reading about the sacrifices remind us of how awful our sin is. And while we do not follow all the Old Testament in its details, we still learn from the law how to live our lives in honor of God. We might not build fences on the roof of our house (Deuteronomy 22:8), but we should seek to make sure that we protect our neighbors from dangers when we are able (they built fences because people would hang out on the roof). These laws thus still show us how to live and honor God; they still guide us in living as we live in gratitude for God. As this article shows us, these laws are both canceled but also continued.

In addition, we should note that this article discusses the ceremonial laws, not the civil or the moral laws. The civil laws applied to the people of Israel, but were related to that time and place; for example, one sees that in the application of the death penalty for offenses (remember, back then they did not have prisons, etc.). We find guidance in these laws, as they teach us about God, but there is not a call to make these laws the law of the land, as we are now living in various nations as God’s scattered people. In addition, the moral law still stands – Jesus did not say not to keep the 10 Commandments but actually goes deeper in them (see Matthew 5:21-48).

At times, Christians will think or say, “I’m so glad I don’t have to keep the Old Testament laws.” I’m not sure if this is the perspective that we should have — we should be thankful for living in the time of fulfillment rather than the time of promise, as we see what they pointed to, but we need to remember that the people of Israel loved the law and found life in it because they came from God (see Psalm 19 and 119) and also know that Jesus calls us to a higher standard in light of the presence of the Spirit among us. We might not follow each law literally, but we are called to keep them in their divine and spiritual intention, not for salvation (as the previous articles so wonderfully explained) but because of God’s work in our hearts.

Questions about Bible or theology? E-mail them to Pastor Brian at Theology@wearefaith.org. You can also subscribe to get weekly e-mails with our blog posts by filling out the info on the right side.