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None who have lived since Jesus Christ died on the cross have been responsible for any of the commands of the Old Testament. That body of religious law was “nailed to the cross” with Christ (Col. 2:14). Christ took away the first (covenant) that He may establish the second (Heb. 10:9–10). Mankind has been discharged or released from the Law of Moses, including the Ten Commandments, through Christ (Rom. 7:1–7). Men no longer live under that old law of bondage (Gal. 5:1), but under Christ’s “perfect law of liberty,” by which we will be judged (Jam. 1:25; 2:12). This being true, it necessarily follows that we are not held responsible for the Ten Commandments or any other part of the Law of Moses.
It also follows that we cannot resort to the Old Testament for our religious authority in the church. Whatever we do, in word or deed, must be done “in the name of the Lord Jesus,” not in the name of Moses (Col. 3:17). The prepositional phrase, “in the name of,” in this passage, literally means, “by the authority of.” It is frequently used to remind our forgetful nature that what we do in religion must be authorized by Christ (e.g., Acts 2:38; 9:27; 16:48; 18:18; 1 Cor. 5:4, etc.). Men must no longer look to Moses or the prophets for their religious authority, but to Christ (Mat. 17:3–5). God spoke to men through the Old Testament prophets in ages past, but with the coming of Christ, He became God’s spokesman, being given all authority (Heb. 2:1–2; Mat. 18:18). Christ speaks to us through His Word, which is the New Testament, not the Old. Despite such plain statements of the Truth, men persist in reverting to the Old Testament for religious authority. Some seek God’s plan of salvation in Old Testament examples, such as the thief on the cross. “Infant baptism” is compared to Old Testament circumcision. Instrumental music in worship is excused on the grounds that it was practiced in the Old Testament. All such cases ignore a most vital Bible teaching: The authority of the Old Testament died with Christ!
[Note: I wrote this article for, and it was published in the “Bible Thoughts” Column for the Hood County News, Granbury, Texas, November 13, 1977.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
