who believes. When reading the Bible, one very important rule is that scripture interprets scripture. According to this rule, the verse that atheists often point to to say we are still under Old Testament Law actually shows that we aren't.

The purpose of the law
Galatians 3:24-25 also tells us that the law died with Christ and didn't rise with him. It says, quite clearly, So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. Here, Paul clearly tells us the law was there to protect us until Christ came, and now Christ has come it's no longer needed. See, the law wasn't there for nothing. It was all there for a reason, to protect God's people until Christ came.

Another reason for Old Testament law was to show us that we can't keep it. Romans 7:7-9 says What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

But does this mean that we shouldn't obey Old Testament law? After all, the 10 commandments are Old Testament law. Surely the crucifixion and resserrection don't mean we can steal and kill and sleep around etc? Well, no, not really. We should still obey moral law as best we can, even if it is originally from the Old Testament. Of all 10 commandments, only the fourth is not repeated in the New Testament. One example of this is the previously mentioned Romans 7:7, in which Paul reffers to the 10th commandment.

Loving God
According to 1 John 5:3, obeying God's commands means we love him. It says In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome. In John 14:23-24, Jesus also tells us that those who love him will obey him, and those who do not love him will not obey him.

Three kinds of law
But surely I'm giving you a contradictory message here? One way I'm telling you no, we don't have to obey Old Testament law, then I tell you that yes, in order to truly say we love Jesus, we must obey Old Testament law, technically meaning we should still stone certain sinners and refrain from certain foods etc. But that's not what I mean at all. In the Old Testament, there are three kinds of law: Civil, ceremonial and moral.

Moral law
Moral laws are objective. They span throughout eternity and are not limited to one people group. These laws are actually repeated in the New Testament. If, for some reason, we lost the Old Testament and all extra-Biblical quotes from it, the New Testament would be a sufficient source of moral knowledge. Of all the 10 commandments, 9 are reinforced in the New Testament. Theft is still condemned. Adultery is still condemned. Murder is most definitely still condemned. Because these things, among others, are renewed in the New Testament, whereas civil and ceremonial laws are not, we can have a reasonably clear idea about which laws are moral, and thus binding on everyone everywhere, and which laws were limited to the pre-Christian Jews.

Civil law
Civil laws are definitely not in place anymore, for Jew or Gentile. Not only are we not required to punish sinners with death, Jesus himself did not even let the pharisees stone the adultress in accordance with the law of Moses. Here's the story. You can read it in John 8:2-11. It says At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (Emphasis mine).

Such an interesting passage. Here, Jesus blatantly breaks the law of Moses, declaring "let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her". Jesus, a man without sin, could still have thrown the stone, but he didn't. He didn't condemn her for her sin, but forgave her. If we are still under Old Testament Law, Jesus would have demanded the Jews stone her. His refusal to do so demonstrates that such laws died with him, and did not rise with him. But Jesus didn't stop at "I don't condemn you." His final words to this woman are words that need to be heeded by Christians everywhere. "Go now and leave your life of sin." This ties in to what I was saying earlier. Evidently, while civil and ceremonial laws no longer apply, there is a moral law that still exists. The cross isn't some sort of "get out of jail free" card. Far from it. Jesus wants us to leave our sin in the dust.

Ceremonial law
Ceremonial laws, such as observance of the passover, do still seem to apply to Jews, even if they are Christians. Ceremonial laws deal with ceremonies and rituals. Who can/must take part in a ceremony or ritual of some kind, and who can't? If one is "ceremonially unclean", it means they have done something, or something has happened, that makes them ineligable to take part in a certain ceremony. Dealing with a dead body, for example, makes one ceremonially unclean. It is possible that some ceremonial laws took health and hygiene into account. Some argue that this is actually good evidence for the Bible, because ancient man did not have access to our knowledge or our technology, meaning they were less likely to understand that germs contribute to the spreading of disease.

Personal morality
There is one other kind of law in the Bible. That kind of law is subjective law. Some Christians, even in the modern day, may feel morally opposed to some things such as tattoos, eating certain meats, celebrating Christmas or drinking alcohol. While no argument can be made from the scriptures making them immoral for all humanity, for those particular Chrisitans, it is immoral because they feel morally opposed to it. Romans 14:14 covers this when it says I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

So while it is not wrong to do the previously mentioned things, if a Christian is morally opposed to it, it is wrong for them to do it, and wrong for another Christian to try to convince them otherwise. As a general rule, if you are a Christian, and your conscience tells you not to do something, don't do it.

Conclusion
Christians are no longer under Old Testament law, save of course moral laws found in the Old Testament. We don't have to obey the law. It's not burdensome, as found in 1 John 5:3. We obey it because we love him. There are some Old Testament laws which shouldn't be obeyed at all, as shown by Jesus rescuing the adultress. However, one more thing I should mention is that while Jesus showed that we are not to judge sinners does not mean that he won't. There is a coming judgement, and on that day, many will tell him they believed, but because they did not repent of their sin, they still stand condemned. It is not enough to believe in Jesus, for even demons do that (James 2:19). To repent of your sin in your heart is vital.