The foundation is now laid. The purpose of the Law has been explained and its attributes have been identified. With this understanding in place, it is now time to see how Paul addresses specific aspects of it and if we are to follow or abandon them. Part two will explore the areas of Law pertaining to:
- Circumcision
- Sacrifice
- Diet
Then, in Part 3, we will explore the nature of Justification & Righteousness and finally understand the new Law that we are to follow as 21st Century Christians.
CIRCUMCISION
In Genesis, the law of circumcision was given to Abraham as an outward symbol of his devotion to God (Romans 4:11) and is another, unique way that Jews separate themselves from the Gentiles. The question of a Christian’s need for circumcision was a hot topic in Paul’s day and was an issue he addressed in his letters to the Romans and Galatians. This section will detail the importance of circumcision to the Jew and what Paul says about how a Christian is to approach the issue.
The covenant of circumcision was given directly by God to Abraham and his descendants. As the years passed, it was not only a cultural practice, but also an outward declaration of their submission to the Mosaic Law. Paul affirms this when he writes, in Galatians 5:3, that to be circumcised is to be obligated to follow the entire Law. If this is done, the person is essentially giving their marriage vows and is binding themselves to the Law’s authority. For the Old Testament Jew, this was not an issue, since that was the purpose. However, in New Testament times, since the Jews did not accept Jesus as Messiah, they continued to cling to the Law and circumcision as their way to obey God.
IS CIRCUMCISION NECESSARY FOR A CHRISTIAN?
Many people in the early Church thought circumcision should remain a requirement for believers in Jesus. Christianity was a new movement and even professing Jewish-Christians could not understand a departure from the Law to a different salvific model. In response, Paul had to refute the idea that circumcision was necessary for a believer in Jesus, and in Galatians 5, he does just that, declaring circumcision as a useless activity for Christians. There is no value in it at all. As said previously, he even goes so far as to warn believers and advise against doing so, less they obligate themselves to a Law in which Christ had freed them from. He reiterates his case in chapter six by saying circumcision means nothing and all that matters is the new creation in Jesus (Galatians 6:15).
The requirement of the physical act of circumcision has directly been refuted in Galatians, however, Paul brings an interestingly different perspective in his letter to the Romans. Here, circumcision is necessary, but not in the way you might think. In Romans 2:28-29, Paul draws their attention to a spiritual aspect of circumcision. He had just finished chastising his Jewish readers for keeping circumcision and not acting holy, while Gentiles (who did not have circumcision or the law) acted as though they did have it. His conclusion, then, was that the Spirit of God preformed a spiritual circumcision, a circumcision of the heart, which was preformed, not because the Law required it, but because an inward change was made. Later in chapter seven, Paul again speaks to how believers were liberated from the Law in order to serve through the Spirit. The conclusion to circumcision, then, is that the physical act is of no use, but a new, spiritual act of circumcision is performed by God and is necessary to declare the believing one as his new creation in Christ.
SACRIFICIAL AND DIETARY LAWS
The sacrificial law was God’s provision for his people to atone for their sins. Leviticus details the many different types of prescribed sacrifices to cover for their sins. God made it clear that the shedding of blood was required to cover sin, and he furnished a way for man’s offenses to be covered and bring them back into a right-standing with Him. Leviticus 11 describes the dietary laws that his people were to adhere to and were foods that were considered clean or unclean. These requirements were clearly given in the Old Testament, but do they still apply to followers of Christ?
WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES
Leviticus is quite clear and extremely detailed in its requirements of sacrifice and food restrictions. From the time these requirements were given in Leviticus until the time of Jesus in the 1st Century, these practices were in place and actively used by the Jewish people. Certain sacrifices were required for individual sin while others were for the corporate sin of the nation as a whole. The death of the animal and the offering of its blood was an atonement and forgiveness of sin, but it was never a permanent fix. The sacrifice would only cover that one particular sin. So long as the person committed sinful acts, further sacrifice was always necessary.
The dietary laws were also very detailed and specific. According to Leviticus 11, animals with a split hoof and who chewed their own cud could be eaten, but an animal who only had one or the other were off-limits. Thus, the lamb could be eaten, but the pig lived. No bacon. So sad. Seafood with fins scales were considered clean, but all others were unclean. These are only two examples out of a plethora of other requirements. The dietary laws were another of God’s methods to set his people apart. During Paul’s life before the Damascus road experience, he would have fervently held to these laws, as seen in his list of Jewish credentials in Philippians 3:5-6.
THE NET TESTAMENT VIEW OF FOOD AND SACRIFICE
Concerning the sacrificial system, Paul continually makes reference to Jesus as our ultimate sacrifice, but he does not directly explain the removal of the sacrificial system in his letters to the Romans and Galatians. The most straight-forward declaration that the Old Testament sacrificial system has been removed is in Hebrews. In fact, the sacrificial system is described as only a model of what Jesus was to accomplish at the cross. Now that Christ has come, no further sacrifice is needed.
Paul was not the author of Hebrews, but certain passages of his letters would suggest that he held to the same view. 1 Corinthians 5:7 speaks of Jesus as the Passover lamb who was sacrificed and in Ephesians, believers have redemption and the forgiveness of sin because of Jesus’ blood (Ephesians 1:7, 2:13). Romans 3:25 also speaks clearly to Jesus’ blood sacrifice which has the ability to atone for sin and Romans 8:3 drives the point home by declaring Jesus’ sacrifice to be the ultimate sin offering which fulfilled God’s requirements in the Law. While Paul does not present a direct parallel like the author of Hebrews, the concept of Jesus being the final sin offering and atoning sacrifice is certainly present.
Likewise, Paul does not directly abolish the dietary laws in his letters, however, he does show his theological views in the way he speaks to the believers in Romans 14. This chapter deals with a believer’s freedom to eat with or without restriction. He describes weak believers who restrict themselves but warns those with strong faith not to pass judgment on the weaker ones. Here, a freedom to eat anything should not cause another believer to stumble. Each person answers to their master and no other.
The pivotal point in the text comes in verses 14 and 20, where Paul declares no food as unclean. This is also evident in Peter’s vision in Acts where the animals in the sheet were considered clean, as well as the apostolic letter to the gentiles in Acts 15, which did not require them to follow the dietary laws.
Concerning Paul, however, he is not shy about proclaiming all food clean and points to Jesus as the new way in which God sets his people apart from the rest of the world. A new, common thread is beginning to form. Many of the ways Jews were supposed to show themselves as God’s people are changing under the New Covenant.
We no longer need circumcision, sacrifice, or food restrictions. Our identity is now found in Christ, but the most powerful pictures of this reality are still to come. Our answers aren’t yet fully answered. WE have seen a fundamental shift in the way we interact with the Law, but the best is yet to come.
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