Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in
All Questions
Question 1
Paul quotes Leviticus 18:5 (“the man who does those things will live by them”) and argues that even perfect law-keeping promised only “long days” in this present life, not eternal life; what does that claim suggest about God’s purpose in giving the Mosaic Law, and how does it challenge common Christian assumptions about “Old Testament salvation”?
Another way to ask: If even perfect obedience to Moses’ Law only promised a long life on earth, what was God’s main reason for giving the Law? How does this challenge the idea that people in the Old Testament were saved the same way Christians often assume?

Direct Answer Based on David Bercot’s teaching, the Mosaic Law was given with promises aimed at temporal life and well-being in this world, not as a path to eternal life. That challenges the common assumption that Old Testament law-keeping functioned as the same kind of “salvation plan” Christians often assume—eternal life through obeying commandments.

Support from Transcript:

  • Paul’s quote means that even if Jews “had kept the law perfectly, it promised them only long days in this present life.”
  • Solomon is cited to show the kind of promise attached to the law: commandments “will add to you length of days… health… nourishment” (temporal benefits).
  • The lesson explicitly states: “Nowhere does the law promise eternal life to those who keep it.”
  • Origen is quoted: the law’s righteousness does not say “he… shall live forever, but only he shall live by it.”
  • Jesus is contrasted: “This is eternal life that they should know you… and… Jesus Christ” (John 17:3).
Discussion Follow-ups If the law’s promises were mainly temporal, how should we understand Israel’s relationship to God before Christ? What does this imply about reading “obedience” passages in the Old Testament?

Jumpstarter 1 of 10
Back Questions Next