"Ray: 'Wait What...could you explain to me why you think that atheists are subject to the dietary laws of another nation, from 3,000 years ago?'"
"It sounds silly when you put it like that. I guess the question now is why you think people today are subject to the moral laws of another nation from 3,000 years ago." Chris B.
Good question Chris. The dietary laws were given only to Israel. For example, God explained why His people should eat a cow but not a horse, a duck but not a swan, etc. He explains what animals are clean and those that are unclean (lobsters eat the trash on the sea floor), what clothes to wear (mixing wool and cotton cause us to sweat), etc.
These things have nothing to do with anyone’s salvation. They were for the well-being and health of Israel, and to set them apart from all the nations of the world.
However, the moral Law (You shall not kill, commit adultery, steal, etc.), was given through Israel to the whole world (see Romans 3:19-20). It is the moral Law that we will stand before and be judged by on the Day of Judgment (see Romans 2:12, James 2:12).
We get a glimpse of the Law’s perfect standard through the words of Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount. He said that the Seventh Commandment is violated when we look with lust (see Matthew 5:27-28), that the eighth is broken through anger, etc. The purpose of the Law is simply to show us that we need God’s mercy, and that is available though the suffering death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without God's mercy the Law will justly damn us in Hell.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
