Why Are Some Old Testament Laws Followed Today While Others Are Ignored?
1) Direct Answer
Because Jesus fulfilled the Law and brought in the New Covenant. The parts of the Old Testament that were shadows and rituals for Israel’s worship ended at the Cross, but the moral righteousness of God remains and is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. So we don’t “pick and choose”—we follow what the Bible itself carries forward in the New Testament and what it says has been fulfilled.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- “Think not that I am come to destroy the law… I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17).
- “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us… nailing it to his cross… Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday… or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ” (Colossians 2:14-17).
- “The law having a shadow of good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1).
- “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ” (Galatians 3:24).
- The New Testament repeats God’s moral commands: “Thou shalt not commit adultery… kill… steal… bear false witness… covet… and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying… Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Romans 13:9).
- Concerning food laws: Jesus declared what enters the man does not defile him (Mark 7:18-19), and “every creature of God is good… sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5).
- Concerning sabbath days and feast days, the Scripture calls them “a shadow,” and says not to be judged in them (Colossians 2:16-17). Our true rest is entering into Christ (Hebrews 4:9-10; Matthew 11:28-29).
- Concerning circumcision: “He is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart” (Romans 2:29; see also Colossians 2:11).
- The apostles, by the Holy Ghost, laid only necessary things on Gentile believers (Acts 15:28-29), showing that the Mosaic ritual was not binding on the church.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
Now notice how the Bible itself makes the line clear:
- Temple/ceremonial laws (sacrifices, priesthood, feast days, dietary and purity rituals) were shadows pointing to Christ. When the Lamb of God came and shed His blood, the sacrifices and priestly system reached their fulfillment (Hebrews 10:1-14). To keep the shadow after the substance has arrived would deny the very fulfillment.
- Civil/national laws (land rules, penalties, kingship statutes) governed Israel as a nation. The church is not a political nation; our Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). We submit to civil authorities where we live (Romans 13:1-7), but the church does not enforce Israel’s state penalties.
- Moral law (God’s holy character—no idolatry, no murder, no adultery, no stealing, truthfulness, purity, love) never expires. The New Testament reaffirms and even lifts it higher—anger judged as murder in the heart, lust as adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:21-30). Under grace, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who walk in the Spirit (Romans 8:4). God writes His law on our hearts (Hebrews 8:10).
You see, it’s not three Gods and it’s not two Bibles. It’s one God unfolding His covenant. The shadow gives way to the substance, but the holy nature of God remains the same. That’s why we still reject sin but we don’t keep animal sacrifices, temple rituals, or feast-day obligations. Christ fulfilled them.
4) Reinforcing Statement
So the reason some Old Testament laws are kept and others are not is simple: the Bible says the shadows ended in Christ, and the New Testament repeats and deepens the moral commands. We’re not under the letter that kills, but under the Spirit who writes the law within and leads us to live holy.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Position of a believer in Christ
55-0227A §60
Now, just a moment. About five more minutes. if you'll be real reverent, I want to present something to the full Gospel church. Listen close. ... before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: [4th verse of Ephesians 1.] Having predestinated [or other words, foreknowing] us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the ... pleasure of his good will. Now, let's take the laws of the Old Testament for a shadow. And will you bear with me jus...
The ministry of Christ
53-0607A §5
...k horses and he'd ride the rodeos; very fancy rider and a very good shot with guns. And so he said... One day I remember, at home, I wanted to be like my dad. And we had an old plow horse. And, a lot of you fellows around here is off the farm, aren't you? So you know what an old plow horse is. I'd plowed that old fellow; he's old to begin with. And I'd plow him way late in the evening; dad wanting me to take him out so I wouldn't hurt the old fellow. And I had a little old watering trough down there, a log hollowed...
God's chosen place of worship
65-0220 §15
Now, death was ... the law of death was the commandments given on Mount Sinai which told man that he was a sinner, and to transgress God's law, he died. But there's no salvation in the law. It was only a policeman that could put you in jail; it had nothing to bring you out with. But then He gave another law. That was at Mount Calvary, where sin was reckoned in Jesus Christ. And there the penalty was paid, and not with ... without law, but by grace you are saved, by the grace of God through predestination of God's f...
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever
56-0426 §22
But now, in the Old Testament, there was three ways of knowing a message: The first, it was the law; the second, it was a prophet; and the third was a dreamer. And then they had a way of proving that whether it was just exactly right or not. Now, in the Aaronic, or Levitical, priesthood, on Aaron's breastplate had twelve stones. And it's not exactly known by the scholars whether it was a reflection of the twelve stones together, or certain sacred lights: That when a prophet prophesied, or a dreamer told his dream,...
The Kinsman Redeemer
60-1002 §50
Now, I want you to notice, Naomi, the old church, begin to explain to Ruth all the laws about her religion; like the Old Testament is a shadow of the New. Now, I want you to get this story right here. Now, I want to show the shadows. The Old Testament explains the New, if you'll just read it, for it is a foreshadow of the New. Now if I was going towards that wall, and I had never seen myself, and I seen my shadow, I would know ... have some conception of what I'd look like. If you know what the New Testament is, re...