Do Old Testament Laws Affect Me Today?

Before we understand the depth of this question we need to break down the old testament laws in their proper context:

The old testament contains 613 laws that are separated into 3 groups; ceremonial, civil, and moral law.

Ceremonial- The ceremonial laws were specifically addressed to individual nations and ceremonial practices. A majority of ceremonial laws dealt with rules of cleanliness, some examples include hair cutting, meat-eating, circumcising, and menstrual cycle specifics.

Civil- The civil laws worked as a modern-day justice system: these included capital crimes and the proper punishments and consequences.

Moral- The moral laws are a divine reflection of God's character. Laws concerning murder, sexual relations, abstinence, adultery, and stealing all fall under the moral law. These laws were put in place to teach the father's heart and His perfect design. Because we understand God's character will never change, the moral laws will remain unchanged as well. To alter the application of moral law, would be to spit on God's character. Our personal opinions have no dictation over the application of moral law.

Prior to the coming of Christ, God's people followed these laws to the T. Any departure from these laws would result in sacrifice and atonement at the altar. For every sin committed, a sacrifice of blood was needed to be redeemed.

Many modern Christians believe the old testament laws are obsolete since Jesus has already paid the price for our sins. This couldn't be further from the truth, while Jesus walked the earth he said "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." [Matthew 5:17-18]

Through the teachings of Jesus, we understand the posture of our hearts is a primary concern of God.

After Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins a new covenant was put into place. Today there is no need for sacrificial animals to atone for sins, but by asking for forgiveness and turning away from our sins we are redeemed.

For today we do not blindly follow a group of laws, but as we grow closer in the Lord we naturally begin to stray away from our sinful desires.

Grace and forgiveness outweigh the blind following of laws, but these old testament teachings are not obsolete, and should still be viewed as necessary for review and prayer.

For the modern Christian, the holy spirit guides us towards personal convictions: the cutting of one's hair could hold no weight over one Christian and be an utter conviction for another.

The old testament ceremonial laws should be viewed as a guideline to help us specify our personal convictions.

By praying over these individual issues and repeatedly seeking God out, we will know which are personal convictions for our individual walks with the Lord.

To summarize: Moral laws will always be in effect no matter where we look in the bible but ceremonial laws start with the removal of pride and end with personal convictions towards the individual.