A very common belief among many modern Christians is that the Old Testament represented the failure of the Law and is therefore "bad" while the New Testament teaches grace and is therefore good – that the God of the Old Testament was harsh and cruel, but Jesus came to pacify His father’s anger and change the rules so as to make life easier to live. After all, the Old Testament has those impossible to keep Ten Commandments, but Christ only commanded us to "love".

But is all of this true? Did Christ come to "do away" with the Law of God? Were the Ten Commandments "nailed to the cross?" Is the Old bad and the New good? A close examination of Scriptures may surprise you.

As we begin our study, it might surprise you to learn that there is very little "new" in the New Testament. What I mean is that almost every concept found in the New Testament was first introduced in the Old Testament. A good study Bible with marginal notes will show which Old Testament scripture is being quoted in the New Testament. Rather than the New Testament writers rejecting or condemning the Old Testament scriptures, they often quoted from them, praised them and encouraged their students to read and study them. Let’s examine this point a bit further.

The apostle Paul, in writing to the young minister Timothy reminded him, "that from a child you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:15-17). Was Paul speaking of the New Testament? Of course not, it hadn’t been written when Timothy was a child. He told him that the "scriptures", the Old Testament, were able to make one wise unto salvation. Hard to believe? Let’s hear from Jesus Himself:

• John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me"
• John 5:46-47, "For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words? "
• Luke 24:25-27, "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself "
• Luke 24:44-45, "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures"

Let’s hear more from Paul and the other apostles on the authority and validity of the "Old Testament" scriptures:

• Romans 15:4, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope"
• Ephesians 2:19-20, "Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone"

• John 1:45, "Philip finds Nathanael, and says to him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph"
• Acts 28:23, "And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening"
• 2 Peter 1:19-21, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost"

"But we're a New Covenant church" you might say. Well even the "New Covenant" was first introduced in the Old Testament; can you believe it? Look at Jeremiah 31:31-33, "Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, says the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people"

And look, the New Covenant would still contain God’s Law, only this time, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Law would be written in our hearts. In other words, the law would be a part of us. That’s what God wanted all along: "O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!" (Deut. 5:29). You see, the problem was not with God or His Law, the problem with the Old Covenant was with the people: "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he says, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Hebrews 8:7-8). There is much more that can be said on the covenants, but that will have to wait to be covered in a future article.

"But", you ask, "didn’t Jesus come to do away with the Law?" Well, did He? Let's see: "Do not think that I have come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, until heaven and earth pass, neither one jot nor one tittle shall pass from the law, until all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. " (Matthew 5:17-19). Clearly, Jesus said He did not come to destroy the Law. Read the rest of Matthew 5 and you will find that, rather than do away with the Law, He expanded upon it, made it more spiritual.

People say that instead of having us keep the Law, Christ gave us "the Golden Rule" about doing unto others as we would have them do unto us, right? Well if you read where this is given in Scripture, you may be surprised where Jesus says this idea comes from: "Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" (Matt. 7:12). Can we begin to see that the Law, rather than being a harsh set of "do's" and "dont's", is based upon the simple concept of Love. Let's look at another example of this concept.

It has been said that Jesus brought two "new" laws – to love God and love our neighbor. Would you be surprised to learn that Jesus was merely quoting from the Old Testament Law? "And you shall love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. 6:5) and "You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but you shall love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD" (Lev. 19:18).

Let’s look at that scripture in its full context: "Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:35-40).

Notice first that the lawyer asked him which was the greatest commandment in the law. "The law", as was commonly known to the Jews of that time, consisted of the first 5 books; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is still how the Jews refer to these books, also know as the Torah. He wasn’t asking Jesus to make up a new law, nor did Jesus answer by saying that the greatest commandment isn’t in the law, but here’s a new one.

More importantly, notice that these two "laws of love" are the very foundation of the Law and the Prophets – in other words, the Old Testament. The purpose of God’s Law, the Ten Commandments being an outline or framework, is to teach us how to love with a Godly Love. The first four of the Ten Commandments teach us how to love God, the last six teach us how to love our neighbor. Paul understood this when he said, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law. For this, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, You shall love thy neighbor as thyself. Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Romans 13:8-10).

Did Jesus change things? Hardly! Before His human birth, Jesus, then known as the Word or the Logos, was the very member of the God Family who gave the Ten Commandments to mankind through Moses! Why would He change the very Laws He gave? For proof the Jesus was the God of the Old Testament, be sure to read our article entitled Who is the God of the Old Testament?.

God’s Law is for our own good, much like the rules and regulations that your parents might have set down when you were young. Nobody likes those laws or rules when they are a child growing up. But once we've grown up, we realize that our parents established those laws because they knew better than we did and they did it for our own good, because they loved us. God has done the same, only on a much grander scale. Far from being harsh and cruel, God is Love, "He that loves not knows not God; for God is love" (1 John 4:8). He is the perfect parent and His laws are all meant for our own good, not His. Jesus kept His Father’s commandments and taught us to do the same. Look at these New Testament scriptures:

• John 15:10, "If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
• 1 John 5:3, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."
• 1 Corinthians 7:19 – NRSV, "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but obeying of the commandments of God is everything"
• Revelation 14:12, "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. "

Jesus did not come to change things but rather to expand upon the Law, to make it spiritual, not to do away with it. Read Matthew 5:17:48 for more on this point. He also came to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. This is the "good news" that He brought – that men could repent, that is, change what they were doing and believe in the good news that God would come to earth to rule righteously. He came to fulfill all of the prophecies made about Him in the Old Testament, prophecies involving His first coming as Savior and Redeemer and His second coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords – the soon coming Kingdom of God.

Think about this: if Jesus had been opposed to the way His Father had done things, then how can you reconcile the following Scriptures?

• John 5:30, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me"
• Matt. 7:21, "Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven"
• John 8:28-29, "Then said Jesus unto them, When you have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him."
• John 5:19, "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for what ever things he does, these also does the Son likewise"
• John 14:28, "You have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come [again] unto you. If you loved me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I."
• John 10:30, "I and my Father are one"

You see, there has always been a unity and a consistency in the God Family. The Father and the Son are united in thought and in deed. They do not change: "For I am the LORD, I change not;" (Malachi 3:6). "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8). They do not try one set of laws, and then throw them out and try a new bunch. God’s Plan for man was perfect from the beginning. As we saw, the problem was with men; they were not able to keep God’s Law alone, without God’s Holy Spirit.

God’s Law of Love (outlined by the Ten Commandments) is eternal and will be written in the hearts of men in the future New Covenant. We will explore the Covenants in a future article, but for right now, check out our chart: The Ten Commandments Throughout God's Word. This chart (by no means exhaustive) gives examples of each of the Ten Commandments and general commandment keeping, in four different time periods of eras. You’ll see at least one example of either the keeping of the commandment or the negative results of not keeping it. These represent only a first pass at finding examples of each commandment in these four eras, so keep checking for additions.

The eras are significant since many teach that the commandments were a part of the "Old Covenant" and therefore, were done away with. This chart shows that they were in effect before being formally given at Sinai, were kept by Jesus, by Paul, the Apostles and the early New Testament Church, and will still be kept in the future Millennial Kingdom.