Somebody asked me this question and I thought I should post it here together with the response I gave because it is an often asked question. The topic is probably what you may have heard before. That Christians cherry pick Bible verses for their own benefit but leave out others especially those to do with the laws given to the Prophet Moses.
Question:
in this book Leviticus chapter 19&20, God gives his commandments again; and punishments if broken. Jesus Christ came to pay the punishment for all sin once and for all. so nowadays -for example- things like piercings haircuts tattoos and us not having clear directions about the Sabbath is okay. Yet we still do not condone homosexuality sodomy adultry among others. So what has changed? What hasn’t changed? What makes the difference? And what does it really mean that Christ is the fulfilment of the law????
Response:
Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-20). He fulfilled it by living a perfect life and dying on the cross for our sins (II Corinthians 5:21) and therefore anyone that believes in Him becomes saved (John 3:16). This does not mean that Jesus removed the law because lying, stealing, killing, committing adultery etc. are still sin and wrong things to do (Romans 7:4-13).
Belief in Jesus makes us perfect before God through the blood of His Holy Son but also a relationship with Jesus gives us the Holy presence of His Spirit who enables us to walk in the statutes of the Lord because grace is not a license for sin, rather it is power to overcome sin (Romans 6:1-2; Titus 2:11-14).
Therefore things such as what to eat, when to worship, how to dress, festivals and even where to worship were ceremonial laws which were given to Israel to make them unique among the nations, keep them from false worship practiced by surrounding nations and draw them closer to YAHWEH because they kept them ‘clean’ (Deuteronomy 7:1-10). These laws were kept even by some of the New Testament Jewish believers as seen in the book of Acts but we see that things such as circumcision (Act 15), Sabbath worship and Jewish festivals have been left to celebration by the believer at their own conviction but not imposing them upon others (Romans 14; Colossians 2:8-23; Galatians 4:8-11; 5:1). Even food has been allowed to be eaten at one’s own conviction (Acts 10:9-16; I Timothy 4:1-5).
BUT on the issue of sin, even sexual sin and basically the ten commandments have by in no way been removed in the new covenant. Throughout the New Testament we see the Bible speaking to the early church and warning them to keep away from sexual sin (adultery, fornication, sodomy, homosexuality, effeminism etc. – I Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:1-8; Hebrews 13:4). In the new covenant we are actually expected to be more righteous than those in the old covenant because of the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling in us to bear fruit and thus we shall bear the greater judgment (Matthew 11:20-24).
God does not change and neither do His standards (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17) and we were warned by the holy prophets and apostles that a time is coming when men would change the truth into a lie and a lie into the truth. They would call good evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20; Romans 1:25). From the beginning God ordained that sex should be between one man and one woman in the boundary of marriage (Matthew 19:3-9; Genesis 2:24). Even if the whole world rejects God’s Word and even if the church embraces the world’s stance God’s Word can never change (Matthew 24:35; Psalm 138:2; Isaiah 40:8). We should not define our Christianity by the way people interpret Christianity today but rather the way the Bible dictates it and how the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and the saints of the early church lived it.
If tattoos, piercings, dressing (especially incident dressing), hairstyle, drinking of alcohol is going to cause a weak brother to stumble I will not indulge in them for the sake of my weak brother so as not to cause them to sin (I Corinthians 8). This is love and true love is sacrificial.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NKJV)
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
If you are not saved, that is, born-again please read this article here and accept Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Saviour and Love. He loves you too much. Please make this decision today, you will never regret it.
Ben-David Ministries 