Christian views on the Old Covenant

The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians and that the justified man is still bound to keep them; the Second Vatican Council confirms: 'The bishops, successors of the apostles, receive from the Lord [...] the mission of teaching all peoples, and of preaching the Gospel to every creature, so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments.'

Since they express man's fundamental duties towards God and towards his neighbour, the Ten Commandments reveal, in their primordial content, grave obligations.

The foundation of evangelical Lutheran biblical exegesis and exposition is contained in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession (Article 4) (1531): All Scripture ought to be distributed into these two principal topics, the Law and the promises.

[20]Lutherans, quoting Colossians 2[21] and Romans 14,[22] believe that circumcision and the other Old Testament ceremonial laws no longer apply to Christians.

Advocates of this view hold that, while not always easy to do and overlap between categories does occur, the divisions they make are possible and supported based on information contained in the commands themselves; specifically to whom they are addressed, whom or what they speak about, and their content.

For example, a ceremonial law might be addressed to the Levites, speak of purification or holiness and have content that could be considered as a foreshadowing of some aspect of Christ's life or ministry.

"[27] As a theological system, Dispensationalism is rooted in the writings of John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) and the Brethren Movement, but it has never been formally defined and incorporates several variants.

Wayne G. Strickland, professor of theology at the Multnomah University, claims that his (not necessarily "the") Dispensationalist view is that "the age of the church has rendered the law inoperative".

Despite this difference, Dispensationalists continue to seek to find moral and religious principles applicable for today in Mosaic Law.

[29] He suggests that Matthew's record of the Sermon on the Mount is structured similar to the literary form of an ancient Near Eastern covenant treaty.

However, Dispensationalists believe that ethnic Israel, distinct from the church, and on the basis of the Sinai covenant, are featured in New Testament promises, which they interpret as referring to a future time associated with the Millennium of Revelation 20 (dispensation #7).

[24] This view is a break from the traditional Reformed position, including that of John Calvin and the Puritans, which holds that the civil laws have been abrogated though they remain useful as guidance and revelation of God's character.

This is a conclusion similar to older Christian theological systems on this issue, that some Old Covenant laws are still valid, but this understanding is reached in a different way.

[42] In direct contrast with Supersessionism (and also the doctrines of Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus and Solus Christus) is Dual-covenant theology.

[44] The Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament describes a conflict among the first Christians as to the necessity of following all the laws of the Torah to the letter, see also Council of Jerusalem and Incident at Antioch.

)"[45] to mean that Jesus taught that the pentateuchal food laws were no longer applicable to his followers, see also Antinomianism in the New Testament.

The parenthetical statement is not found in the NRSV's Matthean parallel Matthew 15:15–20[46] and is a disputed translation, for example, the Scholars Version[47] has: "This is how everything we eat is purified"; Gaus' Unvarnished New Testament[48] has: "purging all that is eaten."

Gerhard Kittel writes "It is of the essence of NT religion that the older, ritual concept of purity is not merely transcended, but rejected as non-obligatory.

What defiles a person comes from within, from the human heart Mark 7:20–23[51] Others note that Peter had never eaten anything that was not kosher many years after Acts 2 (Pentecost).

The first set of commandments deal with a relationship to God (Hebrew: בין האדם למקום bein ha'adam lamakom).

The second set of commandments deal with a relationship to men (Hebrew: בין האדם לאדם bein ha'adam la'adam).

)[citation needed] Several times Paul mentioned adhering to "the Law"[53] and preached about Ten Commandment topics such as "idolatry".

[58] Specifically, he decreed the death penalty for anyone who observed the sabbath or practiced circumcision, rededicated the Jewish Temple to Zeus, and forced Jews to eat pork.

The people, who did not want to continue to be governed by a corrupt and hellenized dynasty, appealed to Rome for intervention, leading to a total Roman conquest and annexation of the country, see Iudaea province.

[61] Some theorize that the early Christians came largely from the group of hellenized Jews who were less attached to Jewish rituals, philosophies and practices.

The Council of Jerusalem[62] of about 50 AD was the first meeting in early Christianity called upon to consider the application of Mosaic Law to the new community.

The decision of the Council came to be called the Apostolic Decree[64] and was that most Mosaic law,[note 4] including the requirement for circumcision of males, was not obligatory for Gentile converts, possibly in order to make it easier for them to join the movement.

In the wider Jewish community these partial converts were welcomed (a common term for them being God fearers, similar to the modern movement of B'nei Noah, see dual covenant theology), but they as Gentiles were excluded from the Temple proper and certain rituals.

[citation needed][74] In the middle of the second century, bishop[75] Marcion proposed rejecting the entire Jewish Bible, indeed he considered the God portrayed there to be a lesser deity, a demiurge.

[80][81] Recent scholars who have been influential in the debate regarding the law include F. F. Bruce, Rudolf Bultmann, Heikki Räisänen, Klyne Snodgrass, C. E. B. Cranfield,[citation needed] and others, as well as some of those involved with the New Perspectives movement.