Notoriously Confusing

"For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:3-4

A young lady asked a Christian apologist a question about the law. She asked, "Why don't we obey the Old Testament laws against eating shrimp?" He responded, "In the Old Testament there were certain laws that were purely for Israel ... they no longer apply to Christians." There were not "certain laws that were purely for Israel." The entirety of the law was for the nation of Israel. Leviticus 26:46 says, "These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the LORD established between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai." There is not even the hint of the laws being given to the Gentiles, much less Christians who wouldn't come on the scene for thousands of years later. The law has never applied to Christians. Continuing with his answer he says, "I know people are going to hate me for this, but it's true. The Ten Commandments don't apply to Christians either." Now, he is 100% correct here with his answer. Romans 10:4 says, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." If Jesus Christ is the end of the law, there is no way for Christians to be subject to it. It is over! Then, for some reason, he completely contradicts himself. He says, "The Ten Commandments are part of the Old Covenant. Now, nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament and because they are repeated in the New Testament they do apply to Christians." What? He just made this up. There is nowhere in the New Testament where it says that Christians are subject to nine of the ten commandments because they are "repeated." In fact, James says, "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it (James 2:10)." By saying "the whole law" James is referring to all 613 commandments of the Mosaic Law, not just the first nine or ten, depending on how you look at it. By saying we are subject to nine commandments tells me that he has no understanding about the Old or New Testaments. Yet, what does he say next? "Everything from Exodus 20 right through Deuteronomy, that's part of the Old Covenant. They don't apply today. If they're repeated in the New Testament they do apply ... so we need to keep that in mind. We don't want to mix and match our covenants here and Christians notoriously do that and it causes a lot of confusion ..." Yes, it does cause a lot of confusion and he is guilty of contributing to that with this convoluted answer. 

It is interesting that he didn't even mention the Dietary Laws since the lady mentioned "laws against eating shrimp." We are not subject to those either, but if someone wants to attempt to obey them for health reasons, they are free to do so. The confusion that was mentioned by the Christian answering the lady's question comes from the lack of understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. Mankind was never designed to live in obedience to laws. God created us to live in dependence on Him through His indwelling Holy Spirit. It was that way in the Garden of Eden prior to the Fall. It is that way now because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The foundation of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ did for us what we could not do for ourselves. What that means is that He obeyed the law for us and then died the death we deserved as punishment for our failure. Now, raised from the dead He can now live His life in and through us. The Christian life has nothing to do with our response to laws designed to modify our behavior. It has everything to do with living in response to the guiding of the Holy Spirit within us. Our flesh is too weak to obey the law. And that is exactly why God gave it to the Jews and to everybody else who believes they can obey it. The Law was God's contribution to man's best effort to try and be like Him. In our failed attempts to be obedient to it, we realize that we cannot be like God and that our only hope is through receiving His grace and mercy. To subject ourselves to the law is to walk according to the flesh. To trust in and depend on the indwelling Holy Spirit of God to lead us is to walk according to the Spirit. Whether it is 9, 10, or 613 commandments, the Old Covenant Law has no role in the life of a Christian. In fact, the New Covenant tells us exactly how to use the Old Covenant Law. "Now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted (1 Timothy 1:8-11)." The Law is for unbelievers to show them their need for the forgiveness and the life of God offered to them in Jesus Christ. This is why Christians are confused. They are trying to live a life they can't through failed attempts at obeying laws not meant for them. Trust Jesus Christ to live the Christian life in and through you. He is the only one who can live it.