Whenever Christians are asked about the 600+ Mosaic laws given…
Whenever Christians are asked about the 600+ Mosaic laws given by God in the Old Testament (eg. don’t eat shellfish, don’t eat pork, don’t wear clothing with mixed fabric, etc.) the typical response is to say that those laws were part of the old covenant and were replaced by Jesus’ blood atonement and the new covenant. So basically, the Christian claim is that when God gave those laws, they were only meant to be temporary. They were only meant to apply until Jesus’ sacrifice, and then they would no longer have to be followed. However, the Old Testament does not say these laws would be temporary. In fact, the Old Testament repeatedly says all the laws are forever…
“Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you FOR ALL TIME.” (Deuteronomy 4:40)
“You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments ALWAYS.” (Deuteronomy 11:1)
“These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, ALL THE DAYS THAT YOU LIVE ON THE EARTH.” (Deuteronomy 12:1)
“Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you FOREVER, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 12:28)
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children FOREVER, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)
“And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall ALWAYS be careful to do… (2 Kings 17:37)
“… all his precepts are trustworthy; they are established FOREVER AND EVER, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.” (Psalm 111:7-8)
“But you are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are true. Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them FOREVER.” (Psalm 119:151-152)
“The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures FOREVER.” (Psalm 119:160)
How do Christians deal with these verses? Again, please don’t simply respond by saying that Jesus’ death fulfilled it and that’s why you don’t have to follow these laws. Yes I know that’s what you believe. What I’m asking is how do you reconcile this belief you have with the verses that clearly state all the laws are to be followed “forever”? This seems to me like the New Testament contradicts the Old Testament.