The Mosaic covenant or Law of Moses – which Christians generally call the "Old Covenant" (in contrast to the New Covenant) – played an important role in the origins of Christianity and has occasioned serious dispute and controversy since the beginnings of Christianity: note for example Jesus' teaching of the Law during his Sermon on the Mount and the circumcision controversy in early Christianity.
Rabbinic Jews[1] assert that Moses presented the Jewish religious laws to the Jewish people and that those laws do not apply to Gentiles (including Christians), with the exception of the Seven Laws of Noah, which (according to Rabbinic teachings) apply to all people.
Most Christians believe that of the Old Covenant, only parts dealing with the moral law (as opposed to ceremonial law) are still applicable (cf. covenant theology),[2][3][4] a minority believe that none apply (cf. Dispensationalism), and dual-covenant theologians believe that the Old Covenant remains valid only for Jews. Messianic Jews hold the view that all parts still apply to believers in Jesus and in the New Covenant.
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia: Gentiles: Gentiles May Not Be Taught the Torah.
- ^ "God's Law in Old and New Covenants". Orthodox Presbyterian Church. 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ Dayton, Donald W. (1991). "Law and Gospel in the Wesleyan Tradition" (PDF). Grace Theological Journal. 12 (2): 233–243.
- ^ Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 100