Which Law Are You Under?

“One person esteems one day above another,
another esteems every day alike.
Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord,
and he who does not observe the day,
to the Lord he does not observe it.”
Romans 14:5-6

This is going to be a bit controversial, I realize that. It’s not for everyone.

Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord repeats over and over again that Israel must keep his Sabbaths and refrain from specified foods. But interestingly, you don’t find a single command in the New Testament about having to keep the Sabbath, or of having to refrain from specified foods, not one – except to abstain from blood and things sacrificed to idols.

WHY -if Sabbath keeping is so heavily stressed throughout the Old Testament over and over and over again – is it not commanded even once in the New Testament? We see in the New Testament that Paul, for example, goes to the synagogues on the Sabbaths, but that was because he went there to preach the Gospel. In all his writings, there isn’t a single law stating that we must keep the Sabbath or abide by the dietary laws. The COMMAND to keep the Sabbaths and abstain from certain foods is ABSENT from the New Testament.

There is a principle that many in the Body of Christ do not understand, and that is that we are not under the Levitical law. Only with a thorough understanding of this can the believer make sense of the fact that the Sabbaths and food restrictions are not mentioned in the New Testament.

Why is that?

“For the priesthood being CHANGED,
of necessity there is also a CHANGE OF THE LAW.
For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe,
from which no man has officiated at the altar.
For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah,
of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.”
Hebrews 7:12-14

There has been a change of the priesthood, and therefore, a change of the law. Jesus is not from the tribe of Levi, he is from the tribe of Judah. We are under a different administration altogether. Under the New Covenant, we are not commanded to observe the Sabbath, and under the New Covenant, no foods are to be refused.

“For EVERY creature of God is good,
AND NOTHING IS TO BE REFUSED
if it is received with thanksgiving;
for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
1 Timothy 4:4-5

For those who have walked under the Levitical law, this is probably too much for you. And so we return to the first Scripture above:

“Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord,
and he who does not observe the day,
to the Lord he does not observe it.”

If you want to observe the Sabbaths and the dietary restrictions, let no one judge you in this. You are free to be fully convinced in your own mind and follow what you believe is right. On the other hand, please do not judge those who are convinced that they are not required to do so. Concerning those who do not observe the Sabbath, “to the Lord he does not observe it.”

Just remember, our high priest is not from the tribe of Levi. He is from a totally different tribe, the tribe of Judah. In Christ we have been set free from the commands of the Levitical laws.

But let us not get high-minded about this. There ARE laws given to us by our High Priest. They are not the laws of outward performance, no, they are far more difficult than that. Yeshua (Jesus) said that to hate a person is to commit murder in one’s heart. To lust after a person is to have already committed adultery in one’s heart. We are under a law that is impossible to keep …unless we have surrendered our lives to him. We are born in a fallen human nature, which is why Jesus said we must be born again. When one is willing to surrender his life to Jesus, his heart is changed in what is called being “born again.” We are reborn, created new, and Jesus actually gives the person a new heart. His laws are written in that person’s heart, so it is no longer outward performance of rules, but a life outlived from a changed heart. It makes all the difference in the world.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.”
2nd Corinthians 5:17

MORE:
Being Born Again -What Does That Mean?

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