Rightly Dividing

Christians need to know which scriptures apply to them, and which do not. The Apostle Paul expected Christians to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).

The Law of Moses was given to the Jews only, as can be seen from the following verses.

"And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;" (Exo 19:3 KJV).

"And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do. And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words." (Exo 24:3-8 KJV).

It is evident that only the house of Israel was under the Law of Moses.

This Covenant was predicted by the prophets to end, and be replaced. The writer of Hebrews quoted Jeremiah (chapter 31 starting with verse 31) to make this point. "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when 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 when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.... In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." (Heb 8:6-13 KJV).

The Apostle Paul compared the Jews to a woman who could not marry another unless the first marriage was dissolved by death. The Jews could not enter into a new covenant as long as the old covenant was in force. "Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." (Rom 7:1-4 KJV).

The Apostle Paul warned against observing the ordinances found in the Old Testament. These practices were temporary in nature and are no longer observed. "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come". (Col 2:16-17 KJV).

The Old Testament was not meant to be permanent. Without the ending of the Old Testament the Jews could not embrace the New Testament. Paul encouraged others not to observe Old Testament ordinances, but to follow the law of Christ, the New Covenant.

This is not the first time that the worship and practices of God's people had changed. The Hebrews’ worship changed at the foot of Mount Sinai. The Law changed their religious practices. The heads of family no longer offered sacrifices, it became the responsibility of the priests. They could not appeal to what they had done before, they had to follow the covenant given to them by Moses.

Christians should not follow the Old Testament for their worship or practices. The book of Hebrews teaches that Christians are under a "new" and "better" covenant today (Heb 8:6,13; 9:15; 12:24).

Is the Old Testament of value to the Christian? Absolutely! In much the same way as the Israelites valued the period before the Law. The stories about the Patriarchs and their lessons were useful to the Israelites. These stories were important to them even though they were no longer under a Patriarchal system. The Old Testament is useful to the Christian even though the Christian is not under the Law of Moses. The Apostle Paul knew this and wrote, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." (1 Cor 10:11 KJV)

Knowing which covenant is in effect today, is crucial in understanding the Bible. This may of been the subject of 2 Tim 2:15, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (KJV). The rightly dividing certainly includes knowing what is old and fulfilled and knowing what covenant Christians are under today.

R. Marín

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