Date

12-19-2023

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Chair

Richard A. Fuhr

Keywords

The Mosaic Law, Christological, Application

Disciplines

Christianity | Practical Theology

Abstract

This study is a hermeneutical and exegetical exploration of the Christological application of the Mosaic Law for Christians. It involves a clear understanding of the relationship between the continuity and discontinuity from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the relationship between Israel and the Church as people of God, and the relationship between the Old and the New Covenant. It also requires a clear understanding of the meaning and purpose of the law for the initial audience, and its current significance for Christians today. Romans 10:4 presents Christ as the culmination of the law as it sees him as the final goal and its temporal end. 1 Corinthian 9:20–21 reveals that a believer is not under the law of Moses, but he is under the law of Christ. The law of Christ is not presented as a list of rules to be followed. Rather it is the continuous guidance of the Holy Spirit which is the ground of the conduct of a believer who has been justified because of faith in Christ. It is the fulfillment of the promises of the New Covenant foretold in Isaiah 55:1–5; Jeremiah 31:31–34, 32:36–41; and Ezekiel 36:22–28. However, this does not mean that the law of Moses is useless for Christians. Paul says that it was written for our instruction (Romans 15:4) and is profitable for our training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). The distinctive feature of this study is that it is not applying Scriptures or the law of Moses directly to Christians. Rather the law and the other Scriptures are applied first to Christ and then seeing their application to Christians in the light of fulfilment through Christ. So, this study arrives at the conclusion that the Mosaic Law is applied to Christians through the grid of fulfillment in Christ which involves recalibration of each of its commandments around Christ without making Christians subject to it. The four hermeneutical principles of transformation, ending, maintenance, and extension of the commandments guide through the recalibration of each of its commandments around Christ for the application for Christians.

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