7 Things I Wish Christians Knew About the BibleSample

HOW THE BIBLE IS TRUE AND WHY IT MATTERS

Christians also need to understand that the Law of Moses was never intended as an eternal, for-now-and-forever, unchangeable series of divine commands to be always obeyed. Rather, the Mosaic covenant was a temporary administration of God’s grace to govern Israel and was intended to cocoon God’s promises around Israel until the promised messianic seed came. It taught the Israelites about God’s holiness and the severity of sin; it deepened their capacity to worship God in a pagan environment. The Law pointed ahead to the coming of a messianic deliverer and was preparatory for Israel’s role to extend salvation to the world. The Law was part of the scaffolding to keep things temporarily in order, upright, and stable, pointing ahead to a future world. But when the future came, the scaffolding was no longer required because the new building was finished.

While the whole question of the abiding validity of the Law of Moses divides Christians, I’d argue that the Mosaic Law, even if distilled down to the Ten Commandments, is not the definitive summary of Christian ethics. Rather, the content of Christian ethics is the teaching of Jesus, the example of Jesus, and life in the Spirit. The Law remains relevant in many ways, but not as laws to be obeyed as such; instead, the Law remains relevant as a form of wisdom for Christian living and a prophetic witness to Christ.

So, when we are faced with a problematic text about anything from polygamy to prohibitions on pork, we have to ask if it has been superseded by something better in God’s progressive revelation of himself. We should recognize that the Mosaic Law is not the primary basis for Christian ethics, even while it remains a form of wisdom for Christian living. Biblical authority must be understood in light of God’s progressive revelation climaxing in Jesus and the teaching of the apostles.