With the establishment of Jesus’ New Covenant, His followers aren’t required to sacrifice animals to be on speaking terms with God, and Leviticus is full of things that Jesus’ followers aren’t required to do. But many today choose to selectively blend aspects of the old covenant with the new. This blending began when church leaders decided to claim the Hebrew Scriptures as their own. And then church leaders in the fourth century validated the creation of an oppressive form of the church by leveraging Old Testament concepts after Constantine legalized Christian worship.
And that’s when ‘Christians’ started persecuting pagans like pagans had previously done to Christians. The church even had remission of sin and get outta hell proclamations by the eleventh century, for those who would join a Holy War and commit genocide against Jews and Muslims. Four hundred years later, ‘Christians’ were at war with each other; villages were razed to the ground over and over after weaponizing Christianity in the name of God. Completely unchristian attitudes and behavior prevailed wherever Old Testament concepts were leveraged.
Since the fourth century, ‘Christians’ have justified mistreating others by leveraging Old Testament values and practices. The earliest church leaders…Peter and James (Jesus’ brother) and Paul…eventually moved past the old covenant. They realized that Jesus…even though He was foreshadowed in the Old Testament…did not come to extend the old covenant; He came to fulfill it, complete it, and inaugurate something entirely new.
The Old Testament is right up there at the top of the list when it comes to stumbling blocks to faith. For those who struggle to believe, the Old Testament is often to blame. I don’t need to reach back beyond the cross to take from a temporary and inferior covenant compared to the one established by Jesus. The author of Hebrews says Jesus was the guarantor of a better covenant, and that His covenant was built on better promises. And, I wasn’t included in the old covenant to begin with…!
