November 21, 2012 – Catechism 1961-1964

The law in the Old Testament was limited, but it was necessary because of what we ignore in our hearts.  If we were in line with God’s will and thought, the law would be unnecessary.  But we see time and again in the Old Testament that the followers stray.  The laws were meant to stop that from happening as much.  Imagine if there had been no laws where the Israelites would have ended up. 

The same is true today. If we lived out God’s plan for us and followed His heart, the law would not be necessary.  We know how flawed we are and how many mistakes we make.  We know the law is necessary to curb our actions and that without it we would have chaos.  The laws are there to protect us. 

We also need to remember that in the Old Testament, they did not have the gift of the Holy Spirit, they did not have the Good News yet, only promises that it would one day come.  We take our knowledge of Christ and what He did and the Gift of the Holy Spirit for granted.  We don’t understand the affect that has on our lives, even those that don’t accept Christ or religion at all.