What did Peter have to say about those Old Testament Laws? Are we to follow them or is this a thing of the past?
Peter, the Apostle, had many things to say about obedience. Obedience was so important that he imparted the subject at the very beginning of his letter to the dispersion of Jews after the resurrection.
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the fore-knowledge of God the Father in sanctification of the Spirit, FOR OBEDIENCE and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace be to you and peace be multiplied.” 1Peter 1:1-2
Peter not only mentions obedience, he also links it to the result of obedience ‘obedience AND sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ’. For when one holds their obedience during testing, they will suffer to the point that is considered a sacrificial bleeding. This spiritual sacrifice makes you part of the same sacrifice as Christ, suffering in obedience to the written and spoken laws/instructions of YHWH.
This bleeding is mentioned by the Apostle Paul,
“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” Hebrews 12:4
There is no way to prove your obedience unless you are tested. The life of a believer goes something like this,
Peter knew that the testing is part of every believer’s future, and that the testing would cause increasing suffering as the tests get more intense. This suffering is necessary as no one who is not a living sacrifice would be acceptable to join with the body of Christ.
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials” 1Peter 1:6
The translators, not understanding the concept, chose ‘if’ from all the possible conjuctions. Certainly, ‘if’, is not possible because suffering is mandatory to join with Christ. Therefore, a better translation would be ‘that’. Paul makes the concept clear,
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present YOUR BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1
Your entire person, is to be a living sacrifice, just as Christ was. So what then is the difference between the old covenant and the new if obedience was required by both? The difference is faith. We have to believe that God’s Son is the Sacrifice of Atonement for our sins, and that to join with Him is the only way to escape the waiting punishment of death.
The first covenant did not have a way to pardon us if we broke even one command of God. This punishment of death belongs to every single person on earth because it came from Adam and Eve, both who broke a commandment of God. Therefore, all people who are of the flesh of Adam, are condemned to death. None of us nor an angel of God could be the perfect unblemished sacrifice needed to pardon a sin. All of us are corruptible, even angels.
Only God Himself is incorruptible, and that is why a Son from God’s own flesh (which is Spirit) was necessary to join with our flesh. In this way, Christ forced the body of flesh to be obedient, suffering in every way. He lived His entire life absolutely sinless, and was obedient even in the face of torture and death.
The New Covenant is a covenant of faith. Faith leads to obedience, obedience leads to suffering, and only that suffering makes you acceptable to join with Christ. One can have faith without obedience, but this does not lead to life. The demons (fallen angels) for example, do believe in God because they knew God, but they chose disobedience. Faith is made complete by obedience. James illustrates this in his letter,
“You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” James 2:22
Faith alone does not lead to salvation, Faith with obedience does. Faith is made complete by obedience. James speaks widely on this subject.
This concept is completely missed by most Christians who refuse to follow the Old Testament laws, falsely dividing some of God’s instructions from others, thinking that the laws from the Old and New Testaments are different. They are not. They are one body of laws valid from the first day to the last. Those who oppose YHWH have been busy from the beginning, sewing disobedience through lies. We, the believers, do not believe those lies because we have ears to hear and eyes to see.
Peter, continues to explain this concept,
“…you have been grieved by various trials, that the GENUINENESS OF YOUR FAITH, being much more precious than gold that perishes, THOUGH IT IS TESTED BY FIRE, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1Peter 1:7
Your faith will be tested by fire, by trial, to see if you will hold your obedience and suffer, or if you will choose to break your obedience in order to relieve your suffering. This testing splits the people into two categories, the children of God who choose suffering vs the children of the condemned who choose relief from suffering by going along with disobedience making them unsuitable to join with Christ.
Understand, that suffering for one’s own idea of morality is not suffering for God. Society has a changing set of their own laws which changes as trends change. Some of their laws will coincide with God’s, but many will not. These people are the unrepentant. Although they will be credited for those actions which align with God’s, the things they do wrong and refuse to admit are wrong keep them in the category of the unrepentant. The unrepentant will not receive a pardon, no matter how many good deeds they have done. For example, most religions, no matter what false god they worship, do charitable acts. The good things they do are not the problem, it is all the other things they do that break YHWH’s laws. They refuse to admit that breaking these laws is wrong, they are the unrepentant.
Peter, as all Apostles of Christ, always taught and stressed the concept of obedience because it is so fundamental to repentance, and repentance is mandatory to salvation.
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as OBEDIENT CHILDREN, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;” 1Peter 1:14
Peter even goes on to refer the believers to the Old Testament to clarify what being obedient means,
“but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because IT IS WRITTEN, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” 1Peter 1:15-16
Peter quotes from the Old Testament, Leviticus 11:44, Leviticus 11:45, and Leviticus 19:2 which all say exactly that. Notice how Christ and all the Apostles quoted the Old Testament constantly because all God’s instructions are together one body of instructions to be followed.
The fallacy that the ‘spirit’ now lets you disobey the Old Testament laws is absolutely despicable. God’s own Spirit would never EVER lead one into disobedience. Disobedience is the devil’s doctrine, not YHWH’s. The Spirit that comes from YHWH will always teach you to obey all His instructions. Christ shares YHWH’s Spirit and would also never EVER approve of disobedience to any laws or instructions of YHWH.
The suffering you do in obedience purifies you, washes you clean in the blood of Christ.
“Since you have PURIFIED your souls in OBEYING THE TRUTH through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,” 1Peter 1:22
It is the ones who successfully hold their obedience and endure that suffering during trial that become part of the body of Christ, and therefore as part of His body will also be resurrected.
“… So he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great TRIBULATION, and WASHED THEIR ROBES AND MADE THEM WHITE IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB.” Revelation 7:14
Each one of us must wash ourselves clean through suffering like Christ during many trials and tribulations (testing).
Peter speaks again of the written Word of YHWH, as being instructions that are important today as much as yesterday,
“having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the WORD OF GOD which lives and abides FOREVER, because ‘all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the WORD OF YHWH endures forever.’ Now this is THE WORD WHICH BY THE GOSPEL WAS PREACHED TO YOU.” 1Peter 1:23-25
Peter, quoting from the Old Testament, proclaims that YHWH’s instructions/laws are forever, and that these Words are what the Apostles are preaching. Peter goes on to say that the Word of YHWH from the Old Testament is what you need to start with, just as an infant starts with milk,
“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, AS NEWBORN BABES, DESIRE THE PURE MILK OF THE WORD, THAT YOU MAY GROW THEREBY.” 1Peter 2:1-2
He tells us that those who are disobedient to these old laws/instructions are the ones who REJECT Christ.
“Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are DISOBEDIENT, ‘The stone which the builders REJECTED has become the chief cornerstone.” 1Peter 2:7
Again, Peter has quoted the Old Testament to explain that disobedience is NOT something that Christ approves. Christ upholds and teaches obedience to all YHWH’s laws and instructions, from the first command given to Adam, to the laws given to Moses, to the distribution of instructions given by any servants of YHWH today and tomorrow. Obedience is all encompassing, from the very first Word of God, to the last.
The unrepentant will reject the idea of an obedient Christ, just as we see today,
“ ‘and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’ They stumble, BEING DISOBEDIENT TO THE WORD, to which they were appointed.” 1Peter 2:8
Peter quotes Psalms 34 as well,
“ ‘For the eyes of YHWH are on the RIGHTEOUS, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of YHWH is against those who do evil.’ ” 1Peter 3:12
Suffering in obedience is what we need to do,
“Therefore, SINCE CHRIST SUFFERED FOR US in the flesh, ARM YOURSELVES ALSO WITH THE SAME MIND, FOR HE WHO HAS SUFFERED IN THE FLESH HAS CEASED FROM SIN, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” 1Peter 4:1-2
See how Peter continues to plead with believers to suffer in obedience, to turn away from our old ways of following society’s morality. We must replace Society’s book of morality with God’s book of morality which spans Genesis to Revelation.
If you are willing to leave Egypt or Rome or Babylon, whatever you want to call today’s corrupt morality, then God will begin the testing,
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the FIERY TRIAL which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; But rejoice to the extent THAT YOU PARTAKE OF CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." 1Peter 4:13
Christ gave me a Word during this post, the word is ‘Simcha’. I looked it up, this is a Hebrew word which means ‘joy’ or ‘rejoicing’, Strong’s H8057. (see Psalms 43:4 etc). It may seem strange to rejoice at suffering, but truly suffering is a gift. To share in Christ’s sufferings is a great gift because these sufferings are opportunities to show you belong to Him, and they complete your faith, completing your side of the Covenant of Faith which allows you to receive a pardon for the death sentence which awaits the world. It means Christ considers you worthy of joining with Him. The Apostles knew this,
“And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and BEATEN them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, REJOICING THAT THEY WERE COUNTED WORTHY TO SUFFER SHAME FOR HIS NAME.” Acts 5:40-41
This suffering is a way to make us ready and acceptable to YHWH through Christ.
“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, AFTER YOU HAVE SUFFERED A WHILE, PERFECT, ESTABLISH, STRENGTHEN, AND SETTLE YOU.” 1Peter 5:10
Read through 1Peter and watch for the theme of faith, obedience, testing, and suffering. If you have obedient faith, faith that acknowledges that all God’s Words from first to last are for us, then you can prove your faith with actions. These actions of obedience lead to suffering, a suffering that washes you clean in the blood of Christ. This is the true path to salvation which all servants of YHWH preach today and also preached yesterday. Peter was true to God’s teachings, and lived and preached obedience to all YHWH's laws. He labored daily to spread the message to all of us, and is still speaking to this day through his writings. I hope you have eyes to see and ears to hear.
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