What does the Bible really teach about God’s law?
Many Christians have been taught that God’s law belonged to the Old Covenant and was abolished when Jesus Christ died. Others believe Christians must keep virtually every command given to ancient Israel.
But are either of those conclusions what the Bible actually teaches?
The Scriptures present a more complete picture.
We are saved by God’s grace through Jesus Christ—not by earning salvation through obedience. Yet the same Bible teaches that God’s law defines sin, reveals His righteous way of life, and teaches us how to love God and our neighbor.
Jesus did not come to abolish God’s law. Under the New Covenant, God promises to write His laws in the hearts and minds of His people, transforming the way they think and live as they grow in Christlike character through obedience to God’s way of life.
The articles below are arranged in a suggested reading order to help you examine these questions directly from Scripture.
Start Here: Why Did God Give the Law?
Before asking which biblical laws Christians should obey, we should begin with a more fundamental question:
Why did God give His law in the first place?
Scripture describes God’s commandments as holy, just, good, and given for our benefit. God’s law defines sin, teaches us how to love, and reveals principles that reflect His righteous character.
Read: Why Did God Give the Law?
2. Law vs. Grace: What Does the Bible Really Teach?
Are law and grace opposites?
The Bible teaches clearly that salvation cannot be earned through obedience. Eternal life is God’s gift through Jesus Christ.
But does being under grace mean Christians are free to continue practicing what God calls sin?
Paul asked that very question:
“Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!”
—Romans 6:1–2
Understanding the relationship between grace, faith, obedience, and God’s law is essential to understanding the Christian life.
Read: Law vs. Grace: What Does the Bible Really Teach?
3. Did Jesus Abolish the Law?
Jesus made a remarkable statement in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”
—Matthew 5:17
What did Jesus mean by “fulfill”?
Did His sacrifice abolish God’s moral law, or did Christ reveal its deeper spiritual meaning?
Read: Did Jesus Abolish the Law? What the Bible Really Says
4. Do Christians Have to Keep the Ten Commandments?
The Ten Commandments form a foundational summary of God’s instructions concerning love toward Him and love toward other people.
But are they still relevant under the New Covenant?
The New Testament repeatedly discusses commandments against idolatry, murder, adultery, stealing, lying, and coveting. Jesus Himself connected obedience with love.
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
—John 14:15
What place should the Ten Commandments have in the life of a Christian?
Read: Do Christians Have to Keep the Ten Commandments?
5. The Seventh-Day Sabbath vs. Sunday: Which Is Biblical?
The Fourth Commandment says:
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
—Exodus 20:8
Yet most Christian churches worship primarily on Sunday.
When did this change occur?
More importantly, what does Scripture say?
Rather than beginning with church tradition, this study examines the biblical record concerning the seventh-day Sabbath and Sunday worship.
Read: The Seventh-Day Sabbath vs. Sunday: Which Is Biblical
6. Which Old Testament Laws Should Christians Keep Today?
If God’s law has not simply disappeared, an obvious question follows:
Does that mean Christians must keep every law given to ancient Israel?
The Old Testament contains moral commandments, civil judgments, sacrificial regulations, ceremonial instructions, health principles, and other laws given within Israel’s national covenant.
Some pointed directly toward Jesus Christ and were fulfilled through His sacrifice. Others governed ancient Israel as a physical nation.
Understanding these distinctions helps us avoid two opposite errors: attempting to recreate ancient Israel’s civil system or dismissing God’s enduring moral instruction altogether.
Read: Which Old Testament Laws Should Christians Keep Today?
7. What Is the New Covenant?
Perhaps one of the clearest answers concerning God’s law appears in the biblical description of the New Covenant.
God said:
“I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts.”
—Jeremiah 31:33
Hebrews repeats this promise:
“I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts.”
—Hebrews 8:10
The New Covenant does not describe God eliminating His laws. It describes a transformation in which God’s way becomes internalized in His people.
As Christians yield to God and His Holy Spirit, His law becomes more than an external standard. God works within them to change their thinking, desires, choices, and conduct so that they increasingly develop the character of Jesus Christ.
Read: What Is the New Covenant?
8. What Are God’s Annual Festivals (Holy Days)?
The Bible describes a series of annual festivals established by God.
These days include Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Eighth Day.
Far from being meaningless ancient ceremonies, these festivals form a remarkable picture of God’s plan of salvation and His purpose for humanity.
Should Christians understand and observe these biblical festivals today?
Read: What Are God’s Annual Festivals (Holy Days)?
9. What Is Passover in the Bible—and Should Christians Celebrate It?
Passover occupies an especially important place in Scripture.
The original Passover pictured God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul directly identifies Jesus Christ with its fulfillment:
“For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”
—1 Corinthians 5:7
Jesus also observed Passover with His disciples on the night before His death and gave them new symbols commemorating His sacrifice.
What does Passover mean for Christians today?
Read: What Is Passover in the Bible—and Should Christians Celebrate It?
10. Does the Bible Really Declare All Foods Clean?
Many Christians assume the biblical distinction between clean and unclean animals ended in the New Testament.
Passages such as Mark 7, Acts 10, and Romans 14 are frequently used to support that conclusion.
But what do those passages actually say when read in their context?
This study examines the Scriptures rather than beginning with traditional assumptions.
Read: Does the Bible Really Declare All Foods Clean?
11. God’s People Are to Be Holy
Understanding God’s commandments is not merely an intellectual exercise.
God calls His people to become different.
Peter wrote:
“But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”
—1 Peter 1:15
Christian obedience is not about earning salvation or simply checking off religious requirements.
God is transforming His people to think differently, live differently, and increasingly reflect His character.
Read: God’s People Are to Be Holy
Grace Is the Foundation—Obedience Is the Response
Nothing on this page should be understood to mean that human beings can earn salvation by keeping God’s law.
We cannot.
All have sinned (Romans 3:23), and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
Salvation is possible only because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith…it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
—Ephesians 2:8–9
But Paul immediately adds that Christians are:
“Created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
—Ephesians 2:10
Grace and obedience are therefore not enemies.
We are not saved because we obey God. We desire to obey God because He has saved us by grace and is transforming our lives.
Obedience is part of that transformation. As God’s laws are written in our hearts and minds, we learn to think and live more as Jesus Christ did. God’s purpose is not merely that we know His commandments, but that His way of life becomes part of who we are.
Jesus said:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
—John 14:15
Study the Scriptures for Yourself
Some of the conclusions presented in these studies may differ from what you have heard in church or believed for many years.
That makes examining the Scriptures for yourself especially important.
Don’t believe something simply because I say it. Open your own Bible. Look up the verses. Read them in context. Compare Scripture with Scripture—and believe what the Bible says.
The purpose of The Center for Biblical Clarity is not to replace your Bible.
It is to encourage you to open it.