[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fnew-insights-from-the-old-law":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fnew-insights-from-the-old-law-surround":77},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":15,"columnName":59,"date":60,"description":21,"extension":61,"image":62,"meta":63,"minRead":64,"navigation":65,"path":66,"postType":67,"publication":68,"publicationUrl":62,"seo":69,"stem":70,"topics":71,"__hash__":76},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fnew-insights-from-the-old-law.md","New Insights from the Old Law",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12,13,14],"Exodus","Romans","John","Galatians","Hebrews","1 Corinthians",{"type":16,"value":17,"toc":55},"minimark",[18,22,25,28,31,34,37,40,43,46,49,52],[19,20,21],"p",{},"For many Bible readers, the fun is over when we come to Leviticus. We enjoy reading the Genesis account of creation and interesting stories about Noah and the flood, Jacob wrestling with an angel, and Joseph's rise to power in Egypt. Exodus keeps the plot going with the 10 plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the giving of the Ten Commandments.",[19,23,24],{},"And then comes (drum roll, please) a list of laws about mildew. And leprosy . . . unclean foods . . . Jewish feasts . . . and priestly wardrobes. Leviticus starts with laws about burnt offerings and ends with laws about tithing. Now there's a combination sure to excite a 21st-century audience!",[19,26,27],{},"Legal documents are notoriously tedious to read. Most of us don't even read the fine print on a credit card application. Who wants to wade through dozens of dusty laws written more than 3,000 years ago? And didn't Christ free us from legalism and the Pharisaical idea that law-keeping can make us right with God?",[19,29,30],{},"God's Law—The Positive Side",[19,32,33],{},"Yet, God's law is a boundary that gives order and direction to life. It's like a guardrail along a mountain highway that makes you feel safer by defining where the danger lies.",[19,35,36],{},"Years ago I heard a Bible teacher comment that one of his favorite verses is Exodus 16:36, which says, \"An omer is one tenth of an ephah.\" At first glance, that sounds boring—like saying, \"A quart is one fourth of a gallon.\" But the teacher explained that the verse is important because it shows there are certain standards set by God. Everything is not relative. An omer is not one eighth of an ephah or one eleventh. It's one tenth—no more, no less. Your scale may not be exactly right. A merchant might try to sell you an omer for more than an omer is worth. But that doesn't change the fact that God has established an objective standard. \"An omer is one tenth of an ephah.\"",[19,38,39],{},"For the people of Israel, Leviticus and the other books of law served as an objective guide to show what God wanted them to do.",[19,41,42],{},"But laws alone cannot bring us salvation. When we read Leviticus, we're overwhelmed by all the rules and regulations. If that's what it takes to be right with God, how can any of us be saved? And even if we manage to obey all these laws, what about our hearts and our inward motivation? God's laws are good; but we also need grace! \"No one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin\" (Romans 3:20). John wrote, \"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ\" (John 1:17). Paul said, \"The law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith\" (Galatians 3:24).",[19,44,45],{},"A Lot to Learn",[19,47,48],{},"Though it's \"only a shadow of the good things\" we have in Christ (Hebrews 10:1), the Old Testament holds great value for Christians. \"Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope\" (Romans 15:4). Old Testament examples of sin and disobedience \"were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come\" (1 Corinthians 10:11).",[19,50,51],{},"So let's not neglect the Old Testament. Let's ponder what it says about the creative power of God, his holiness, his patience, and his plan for the ages. Let's discover how to worship him with reverence and awe. Let's observe how the feast of Passover, animal sacrifices, and the Day of Atonement foreshadowed Christ and his death on the cross. Let's learn how to love our neighbors, care for the poor, maintain sexual purity, honor family members, experience the joy of the Lord, and demonstrate undivided loyalty to God even when it means being radically different from others who do not believe.",[19,53,54],{},"To ignore the first 39 books of the Bible is like trying to build a house without a foundation. Give it a chance, and you'll discover there's a lot to learn from the Old Testament—even the book of Leviticus.",{"title":56,"searchDepth":57,"depth":57,"links":58},"",2,[],"First Look","2004-04-18","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fnew-insights-from-the-old-law","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":21},"articles\u002Fnew-insights-from-the-old-law",[72,73,74,75],"Biblical Theology","Discipleship","Perseverance in Suffering","Spiritual Formation","jDkg_8wA_g9v3AXUPc9Fpw64V1mQ9KsLNHthOLcjy-s",[78,83],{"title":79,"path":80,"stem":81,"description":82,"children":-1},"Never Forget","\u002Farticles\u002Fnever-forget","articles\u002Fnever-forget","For years a restaurant near my home offered a low-cost lunch called the \"Jack Benny Plate,\" named after the comedian known for his penny-pinching ways. Recently, though, the restaurant managers decided a change was needed because so few people today remember Jack Benny.",{"title":84,"path":85,"stem":86,"description":87,"children":-1},"New Wineskins for a New Century","\u002Farticles\u002Fnew-wineskins-for-a-new-century","articles\u002Fnew-wineskins-for-a-new-century","After successfully squashing the Y2K millennium bug last winter, we have now made it two-thirds of the way through the year 2000. There's still a sense of mystery about the twenty-first century, though, and some uneasiness about what the church will look like in years to come."]