Biblical Instructions: Have To or Get To?

If there's a line I've heard more in faith discussions I can't think of it. "We don't have to do that anymore," gets blurted out at the mention of Biblically clean eating, celebrating the set apart times, and honoring the Sabbath day. It's usually followed up with some sort of explanation about how, yeah, those poor people in the Old Testament really had to do a lot of stuff, but the Messiah came to set us free from that.

Call me crazy, but I think the Messiah had something a little more significant in mind than freeing up our Saturday schedules for his time in the flesh. He didn't teach that we can eat anything we want. And I can't think of any of his parables that might lead us to believe he wanted to revamp the holiday seasons. (Changing the set apart times is something Scripture mentions the anti-Messiah will do though - see Daniel 7:25.) He called himself a shepherd, and whenever he talked about sheep his message was that he would seek them out to bring them back into his flock. He told no stories where he set them free to do whatever they wanted.

I know when most people tell me, "We don't have to do that anymore," they are just regurgitating what they've heard many pastors and believers say. Rarely, if ever, does this statement come from who has significantly studied these topics themselves. But I think what this boils down to is not trusting in the character and nature of YHWH.

A friend of mine is married to a man who used to be very abusive. Thankfully, he has found a lot of healing and their lives have changed significantly. She is no longer not allowed to leave their home or use the phone without telling him. She doesn't have to do those things anymore. But before she did because her husband was then unhealthy and mean. Have you ever heard someone say the God of New Testament is different than the God of the Old? Do you think the Creator was just a cruel taskmaster until the Messiah finally calmed him down?

YHWH stays the same. He is filled with loving kindness. He hears our cries and has mercy on us. Our names are written on his hands. He loves us and has good plans for us. And that's how has always been. He didn't change from an angry and uptight character to a more laid back one in that page between the Old and New Testaments. He has always been the same.

If we believe that he is good today, then we have to believe that he was good yesterday and at the beginning. And if we believe he has always been good then it only makes sense to believe that the instructions he has given us have been for good reason.

While I strongly believe that we are commanded to do things like celebrate his set apart times, observe the Sabbath, and follow his dietary instructions, I don't do those things "because I have to." I get to do those things! I am privileged to have instructions from the Living God on how to live.

Related posts:
Keeping the Law: Ten Commandments as Marriage Vows

King David's Final Advice
Traffic and Laws: The Benefits of Scripture's Instructions