How do Christians know which Old Testament laws apply to them? Pastor John explains five ways Jesus shapes our approach to the Old Testament. How does Jesus change our relationship to the Old Testament? It’s a question we get all the time. Here are two recent examples. Micah in Buffalo, New York: “Hello, Pastor John! What role do the Ten Commandments play in the life and ministry of the New Testament church? If these commandments were part of God’s conditional covenant with the nation of Israel, which was broken, is there any abiding use of these commands in evangelism or moral instruction?” Here’s another version of the question from a listener named Pat: “Pastor John, are there any helpful rules of thumb for interpreting which particular commandments in the Old Testament apply to Christians today, and why? For example, Leviticus 18 Chapter 18 1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am Jehovah your God. 3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their statutes. 4 Mine ordinances shall ye do, and my statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am Jehovah your God. 5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and mine ordinances; which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am Jehovah. 6 None of you shall approach to any that are near of kin to him, to uncover `their' nakedness: I am Jehovah. 7 The nakedness of thy father, even the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. 9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or the daughter of thy mother, whether born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. 10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness. 11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. 13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. 14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. 15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. 17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter; thou shalt not take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are near kinswomen: it is wickedness. 18 And thou shalt not take a wife to her sister, to be a rival `to her', to uncover her nakedness, besides the other in her life-time. 19 And thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness. 20 And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's wife, to defile thyself with her. 21 And thou shalt not give any of thy seed to make them pass through `the fire' to Molech; neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah. 22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. 23 And thou shalt not lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie down thereto: it is confusion. 24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out from before you; 25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth out her inhabitants. 26 Ye therefore shall keep my statutes and mine ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the home-born, nor the stranger that sojourneth among you; 27 (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you, and the land is defiled); 28 that the land vomit not you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore shall ye keep my charge, that ye practise not any of these abominable customs, which were practised before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am Jehovah your God. –19 contain various commandments against sexual immorality and child sacrifice. I think it’s safe to say that most listeners of the show would agree that these commandments apply to the Christian today. However, the same chapters warn against wearing a garment that is made of two kinds of material ( Leviticus 19:19 19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed: neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together. ), rounding off the hair on your temples ( Leviticus 19:27 27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. ), and forbidding tattoos ( Leviticus 19:28 28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am Jehovah. ). Are there any helpful ways to approach the Old Testament that would help make sense of these various commandments?” Pastor John, how do you come at these questions like these from Micah and Pat? Episode 1250: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/five-ways-jesus-changes-our-relationship-to-the-old-testament Related Resources: “Should We Obey Old Testament Law?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4_xhY7SwlE “Why Are Old Testament Commands No Longer Binding?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFAoRtU7n-k “Which Old Testament Promises to Apply to Me?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsCBPuNvPYY “What Value Is the Old Testament to the Christian Life?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNgDNf1Smhw Find other recent and popular Ask Pastor John episodes, http://desiringgod.org/ask-pastor-john