{"id":1066,"date":"2011-03-23T20:50:03","date_gmt":"2011-03-24T00:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.fbclafayette.org\/?p=1066"},"modified":"2019-08-09T14:24:44","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T18:24:44","slug":"the-constitution-contracts-patent-leather-shoes-and-old-testament-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-constitution-contracts-patent-leather-shoes-and-old-testament-law\/","title":{"rendered":"The Constitution, Contracts, Patent Leather Shoes, and Old Testament Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Is a believer obligated to follow the Old Testament Law?\u00a0 For me, the easiest way to think about it is in terms of Constitution, Contracts and Patent leather shoes.\u00a0 Really!<\/p>\n

Constitution<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Is a British citizen obligated to follow the U.S. Constitution?\u00a0\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Are there good principles in the U.S. Constitution that are beneficial for everyone? Absolutely!<\/p>\n

Of all the common interests, traditions, and activities that bind the people of the U.S. together as a people<\/em>, there is one item that reigns supreme\u2014the U.S. Constitution<\/a>.\u00a0 This document delineating the role of government and the rights of the people is the foundation for the United States as a people group.\u00a0 It has been so significant that it enjoys the prestige of being the oldest written constitution still in use by a current people.<\/p>\n

What the U.S. Constitution is to the American people today is precisely what \u201cThe Law\u201d was to God\u2019s people in the Old Testament.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cThe Law\u201d of Moses (which is the first five books of the Bible) contained Israel\u2019s history as a people, its government structures, its religious structures, and yes, specific commandments.<\/p>\n

But since the spread of the Gospel to all the nations of the world, God\u2019s people are living under different governemental structures.\u00a0 We are not united across the globe in one governing constitution or document.\u00a0 Therefore we cannot be under Israel\u2019s constitution.\u00a0 We are united by one King, however, and one Spirit.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

In fact, New Testament Israel was not even under its own constitution.\u00a0 Israel was under Roman Rule.\u00a0 When the Pharisees came to Christ and ask Jesus to fulfill the OT penalty for an adulterous woman (John 8:3-5) Jesus caught them in two dilemmas by saying, “Let Him who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7).\u00a0 First He exposed their self-righteousness–which is a topic for another day.\u00a0 Second, He put the responsibility of execution on the leaders to perform\u2014which they could not even perform under Roman Rule.\u00a0\u00a0 Do you remember where the Pharisees had to go to execute Jesus?\u00a0 The Roman authorities.<\/p>\n

Contract\/Covenant<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The name of the two sections of our Bible is derived from this concept\u2014Old Testament (i.e. covenant) and New Testament (i.e. covenant). In a previous post<\/a>, I detailed a bit more about the OT covenant.\u00a0 The OT Mosaic Law was a covenant or contract between them and God that marked them as a nation, a people, a treasured possession of God (Exodus 19:6).\u00a0 God promised to be with them, and they promised to be loyal to Him and represent Him to the world.\u00a0 The 10 commandments in Exodus 20 are simply a \u201creaders digest\u201d summary of the covenant between God and His people.<\/p>\n

The Old Testament Covenant was a model of how God interacts with His people\u2014in covenant.\u00a0 He makes promises to them to be their God, and they (we) strive to follow Him and represent Him who redeemed them (us) from the slavery and penalty of sin by the blood of His Son\u2014inaugurating a New Covenant with all who believe from every nation (Matt. 26:26-28; 1 Peter 2:9-12).<\/p>\n

Case Law\u2014Patent Leather Shoes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Did you know there is a law still on the books in Cleveland making it illegal for women to wear patent leather shoes?\u00a0 What?! Why?!\u00a0 That law makes no sense!\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 If you understood a bit more about the historical context of that law then maybe it might make more sense.\u00a0\u00a0 In an age long past when women used to wear a lot more dresses (say the 1950\u2019s), the reflective nature of patent leather shoes provided unscrupulous men with a little peep show (more on this law<\/a>).<\/p>\n

That particular law (if true) may not constitute the height of American Jurisprudence.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0But with a bit more historical context, \u00a0you were able to see that \u00a0law was an application<\/em> of a greater moral principle\u2014a \u00a0concern for the protection of the fairer sex.\u00a0 This is case law\u2014real applications, in real time and history of greater moral principles.<\/p>\n

“If an ox gores a man\u2026.the ox shall surely be stoned (Ex. 21:28).” \u00a0What?!\u00a0 “But I don\u2019t own an ox!?”\u00a0 No, but what if your pit bull maims a child?\u00a0 Do you get it now?\u00a0 The “ox goring” laws are simply applications of the greater moral principle of being responsible with your property out of concern for your neighbor.\u00a0 We have liabilities case laws today.<\/p>\n

The Old Testament Mosaic Law is filled with applications<\/em> of God\u2019s universal moral concerns (God\u2019s righteousness) which can be summarized as LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.\u00a0 We don\u2019t always immediately perceive this in the list of laws in the OT because we do not share their historical context\u2014i.e., \u00a0think \u00a0patent leather shoes.<\/p>\n

There are a staggering 613 stipulations given in the Mosaic Law. \u00a0\u00a0Even with that amount there is certainly still not enough case law to codify and exhaust ALL of God’s righteousness for every circumstance in every time period and in every culture that ever existed.\u00a0 But God ultimately provided something better than codification of His righteousness in 613 laws, He incarnated it in Christ\u2014whom we are called to be like now as believers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So What?<\/h2>\n

A believer today is not <\/em>bound to the Old Testament Mosaic Law<\/strong>, just as a British citizen is not bound to the U.S. Constitution.\u00a0 We are united across national, constitutional, and geographical boundaries as God\u2019s people in an inaugurated new covenant established by our one common King, empowered by our common life giving Spirit, and called to manifest the one true righteousness of God\u2019s, found supremely in Christ, testified to and discerned in all of Scripture in loving our neighbor in real time and in real situations.<\/p>\n

Remember the three C\u2019s \u2013Constitution, Contract (Covenant), and Case Law (Patent Leather shoes).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is a believer obligated to follow the Old Testament Law?\u00a0 For me, the easiest way to think about it is in terms of Constitution, Contracts and Patent leather shoes.\u00a0 Really! Constitution Is a British citizen obligated to follow the U.S. Constitution?\u00a0\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Are there good principles in the U.S. Constitution that are beneficial for everyone?… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[105],"tags":[4257,4258,4259],"yoast_head":"\nThe Constitution, Contracts, Patent Leather Shoes, and Old Testament Law - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-constitution-contracts-patent-leather-shoes-and-old-testament-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Constitution, Contracts, Patent Leather Shoes, and Old Testament Law - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is a believer obligated to follow the Old Testament Law?\u00a0 For me, the easiest way to think about it is in terms of Constitution, Contracts and Patent leather shoes.\u00a0 Really! 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