There are two approaches to answering this question. First, the books of Galatians and Romans affirm that God had always granted righteousness by faith and not by the deeds of the law. Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11 both quote the Old Testament (Habakkuk 2:4), which tells us that the “just shall live by faith.” Both Romans and Galatians are all about righteousness by faith apart from following Moses’ laws. We are saved by faith, not by laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The 10 Commandments were never given to grant people righteousness, not in the OT or NT. So The 10 Commandments do have the same meaning in the OT and NT: They don’t grant righteousness, but show, through our inability to follow the laws, that we are sinners. In the OT, when a Jew found himself breaking the law, he brought a prescribed animal sacrifice to the priest for a sin covering. But in the NT and later, when we find we have broken God’s law, we come to the Lamb of God in faith, confessing our sins for forgiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The secondary use of OT law is shown by its extensive use in the NT. For instance, 1 Peter 1:15-16 quotes the OT: “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all Your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’.” The laws given to the Jews were to communicate who the Lord is and therefore what His people must be like: holy. They don’t save us, but they should change our conduct in this world to faithfully reflect the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NT uses terms from the OT to help Christians live out their new status as God’s people, even as the Israelites learned from Moses at Mt. Sinai their new status. They were not saved by those laws; through them they learned who they were: “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.” Those are the words in 1 Peter 2:9, but he was quoting from the OT to help Christians see who they are before God, and enter into the purpose God raised them up for. Peter was telling us to follow the purpose for certain laws in the OT that we may witness of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” More verses from the OT–and quoted by Peter for Christians! We cannot live as we wish, but live for the Lord and communicate His love to the world. If we live righteous lives by the Spirit, the Lord will hear our prayers. If we do not, the Lord will not hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How we live matters: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” This is from Proverbs 3:34, an OT verse quoted by Peter in 1 Peter 5:5. We are not to throw away the OT law in its entirety, but learn from it how we are to act in this world as the people of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are saved by faith alone. By the instructions in the OT and NT, our behavior begins to line up with our faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(This second perspective was shared by a Biola professor, Carmen Joy Imes, who had studied Exodus for the last 15 years.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are two approaches to answering this question. First, the books of Galatians and Romans affirm that God had always granted righteousness by faith and not by the deeds of the law. Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11 both quote the … Continue reading