can enjoy a
certain item, or to not have the enjoyment of that possession? Whenever we chose to disregard one of God’s laws, we
are choosing short-term gratification: whether it is cheating, stealing,
lying, sexual misconduct, disregarding
dietary restrictions, or not observing the Sabbath. We are
choosing short-term gratification over long-term benefit.
But weren’t
the laws of Moses for ancient Israel?
Christians
don’t have to follow them do they?
In a way,
that is true. God told the
nation of Israel that they were to be obedient to His laws, and they were to
be a light to the
other nations around them; BUT they were not to force others to be
observant. Many Christians and
Jews today, however, mistakenly interpret this to mean that Gentiles
SHOULDN’T follow God’s laws. They
feel that somehow it is WRONG for a Gentile to follow God’s instructions.
Christians
often look at the laws of God as something bad and burdensome,
while Jews often look at God’s laws
as only their exclusive possession which no one else should have
the right to observe. This is a
gross misunderstanding of God’s intentions.
God wants to
have the entire world turning to Him, with His laws written on their hearts:
first the Jew and then the Gentile.
But didn’t
God reject the Jewish people? Isn’t
that why Jesus came – to start a new religion? Doesn’t the New Testament condemn the Jews? Part of the biggest
misunderstanding we have in reading the New Testament comes when we try to
define the word “Jew”. What and who were the Jews of the New Testament?