Often when I post, I write with the view that more folks will read the posts than who I am responding, too. As a result, often I put ideas and such into limited terminology.
Absolutely.
And you do to. All real Christians believe there are laws we live by. We all believe we ought love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls and might. We all beleive we ought to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Some Christians have this weird belief that the moral law of God does not apply to us but it does. But NONE of us think there is NO law that we should live by.
Yes, and that is truly a sad mode of thinking!
Such thinking results in limited freedom, and high negative attributes for the body and spirit - not to account for the mockery of testimony.
Truly sad is such a person who will one day stand before Christ in shame.
I'd encourage you to make a change of wording that will perhaps help the believers understand what I perceive is your points.
I prefer the use of the word "principles."
It is a better word for the NT believer, because it goes beyond the mere moral code of the OT.
For instance, Christ's statements He made such as, "You have heard it said... (Matt 5) and "look upon to lust after..." go beyond the written moral law in the OT.
You and I, are well experienced and learned, we can recall that when we were young (even babes) in Christ, the principles were sometimes considered rigid unbroken rules; as we matured, we found that the principles were not sign posts to show achievement, but guides to daily constrain and channel the testimony - using Paul's word - conversation.
You will recall that younger children tend to see things as either/or. Their parameters of choice limited because of both knowledge and experience; however, when becoming adults, have the insight and maturity to both understand and experience the "why" or "how" or a great number of other elements that go into the principles of which Christ preached.
There is NOTHING in the entire BIBLE that even remotely indicates that obeying the moral law of God is for baby Christians and adult Christians don't have to.
Agreed, for when Christ presented his statements (again see the example of Matt 5), he was presenting the principles to both believers and unbelievers.
Mature Christians still have a sin nature and they still need the law of God.
Furthermore the law of God is an expression of the character of God and so we mature Christians love it. In fact the more mature you become as a Christian, the more you love the law of the Lord.
Above is another example of what we are both agreed.
The difference is that of wording - you use "law" but I am using "principle."
For instance, the very first commandment: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."
By using "law" we would have to reword the verse - for few of the US believers came from Egypt, and none from the "house of slavery."
By using "principle" we understand that verse is totally applicable to all people - both believer and non-believer. Just as Christ in Matt 5 spoke the principles to both groups.
I do sense that I need to make this one area of distinction as an example of how the OT laws of commerce can become moral principles.
The tithe is not part of the "moral" law as far as the "tenth" but part of the law of commerce.
It is important that all believer's understand and practice giving, for it is an integral part of the believer, and never to be neglected.
Therefore, the believer's giving goes far beyond the tithe, and that extends the "commerce law" into the "moral principle" for the believer.
Such extensions (moving from laws of commerce to moral principles) are not limited to tithe, it also goes to treatment of the needy, the care of the sickly, and other elements in which the believer gives often more than mere money.
Folks, when reviewing the OT, always look for how the "law" can be lived out as a principle, and when you preach, preach principles to live by.