What Scripture says
Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17, ESV).
The early church faced the question directly. Some Jewish Christians taught that Gentile converts had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. At the Council of Jerusalem (around AD 49), the apostles decided they did not, asking only that Gentiles avoid a few practices offensive to Jewish believers (Acts 15:1–29). Peter said, “why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:10).
Paul wrote:
- “You are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
- “The law was our guardian until Christ came… But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (Galatians 3:24–25).
- “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16–17).
Hebrews calls the Mosaic covenant “obsolete” now that the new covenant has come (Hebrews 8:13).
Yet Paul also says “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12), and that love fulfils the law (Romans 13:8–10).
What the evidence says
Interpretation
Fulfilled, not abolished
Jesus fulfils the law in several ways: he obeyed it perfectly, he is the reality its sacrifices and festivals pointed to, and he reveals its deepest intent, love for God and neighbour (Matthew 22:37–40).
The three-part distinction
Many Christians, following Thomas Aquinas and the Reformers, distinguish three kinds of law:
| Type | Examples | Status for Christians |
|---|---|---|
| Moral | Do not murder, steal, commit adultery | Still binding; repeated in the New Testament |
| Ceremonial | Sacrifices, food laws, festivals | Fulfilled in Christ; no longer required |
| Civil | Penalties and laws for Israel as a nation | Applied to ancient Israel; principles may guide |
Critics note that the Old Testament itself doesn’t divide the law this way, and that Jesus and Paul treat it as a unit. Many prefer to say the whole law is fulfilled in Christ, and Christians now live under “the law of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:21, Galatians 6:2), which includes many of its moral teachings.
Specific examples
- Food laws: Jesus “declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:19), and Peter’s vision taught the same (Acts 10:9–16).
- Circumcision: not required (Galatians 5:2–6).
- The Sabbath: Christians have differed. Most worship on Sunday, the day of the resurrection (Acts 20:7, Revelation 1:10), and see the Sabbath principle of rest fulfilled in Christ (Hebrews 4:9–10). Seventh-day Adventists and some others keep Saturday.
- The Ten Commandments: nine are repeated in the New Testament; the Sabbath command is the one whose application is debated.
- Tithing: Christians differ on whether the tithe still applies or has been replaced by generous giving (2 Corinthians 9:7).
History
Different traditions
- Lutheran theology contrasts law and gospel: the law shows our sin and drives us to Christ.
- Reformed theology emphasizes the “third use” of the law as a guide for Christian living.
- Dispensational theology sees the Mosaic law as given to Israel for a specific era.
- New Covenant theology holds that the whole Mosaic law has been fulfilled, and Christians follow the law of Christ.
- Messianic Jewish believers often keep parts of the law as an expression of Jewish identity, not as a requirement for salvation.
Where they meet
Christians aren’t under the Old Testament law as a covenant; Acts 15 and Galatians settle that. Its moral principles still guide Christian life, fulfilled in Christ and summed up in love.
What’s still open
How specific laws, such as the Sabbath and tithing, apply today.
Bottom line
Not as a covenant: Acts 15 and Galatians settle that. Its moral principles still guide us. This is rated Settled.