In Leviticus 23, God, you know, the Almighty Creator, calls the Feast days His very own.
a challenge - show me any verse that says God's appointed times are wiped away.
Hi Mike..My thoughts
I would think we would need a foundation as if we were trying to explain to a person who never heard of Christ and the bible.
You would have to first explain what the intended purpose or end goal of them was. When were they first used? What did it accomplish?
Scripture informs us they stood
only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them
until the time of reformation.
What does only mean ? Did that time of reformation come? Did Christ come in the flesh?
Were they required before God formed the Jewish nation from the two gentile nations seeing Abraham’s father was an Amorite, and mother a Hittite?
What did the Jews do before they were required? Was the way into the holiest of all made manifest through shadows?
Could they make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience? What did the reformation restore?
There is Old Testament laws which the New Testament informs us are no longer binding on us. We are informed not judge what another in respect to a Sabbath day. These are called the “ceremonial laws.”
The Bible recognizes two different aspects of God’s law...... moral laws as that which define universal integrity for all people, and ceremonial laws which are binding only on God’s people as a symbol or shadow of separation and of the coming Savior.
Moral laws stem from the character of God. Therefore since God does not change neither do moral principles. I believe, this is even though God may modify particular laws to deal with changing conditions, the foundation remains the same .
Ceremonial laws are different, ceremonial laws included directions on animal sacrifice, circumcision, ceremonial meals, dietary limitations etc. Those kind of laws pointed forward in time to Christ’s promised finished work for sin on the cross. (The time of reformation.) In 1 Peter 1:11, it I believe helps us to understand they were used to preach the gospel of Christ beforehand in respect to his suffering. This shows us they had the Spirit of Christ for if any man has not the Spirit of Christ they simply do not belong to Christ.
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the "Spirit of Christ" which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
They were used to represent the inward born again Jews as well as Christian, the new name he named his bride, who were once called Jews in respect to a living hope of a future Savior, who would pay for their sins.
But we no longer look ahead for Christ to pay for our sins. That’s history. Therefore, we do not practice the Old Testament rituals that point forward to Christ’s first coming. That would be double jeopardy
Paul describes for us in Galatians 3, Therefore the Law has become our trainer to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by the faith of Christ . But now that faith
has come, we are no longer under a coach.
I would think we should ask ourselves in that context, what does Paul mean by “the law?” Does he mean that all Old Testament laws have been set aside? Are we now free to murder, usurp the authority of God by having it in respect to our own selves , lie, steal, and so on? I do not think so. Paul is using them through parables which hide the spiritual meaning form those who do not have the Spirit of Christ. Using them as metaphors . “The law” in this context is referring to the ceremonial law.
This is clear because it is the ceremonial law which was a trainer to lead us to Christ.
I would suggest we ask ourselves .....Does God’s moral law lead us to Christ? I believe no, rather, it shows us that we are sinners dead in our tresapaes and sin with God our living hope. . Ultimately it does not tell us how to be redeemed. Rather, it is the ceremonial laws which showed as a tutor the need for blood atonement . It was these ceremonial laws that foreshadowed the coming of Christ....the Lamb that would take away the sins of the world . Now that the object of our faith has come (Christ), we are no longer under a tutor/trainer ....the Old Testament ceremonial laws.