Leviticus Law

Leviticus often gets dragged into debates about the Bible usually as ammunition against it. Whether it’s rules about eating shellfish, wearing mixed fabrics, or harsher topics like slavery and sexuality, critics point to this ancient book as proof that Christianity is outdated or inconsistent. And to be fair, even a lot of Christians aren’t sure what to do with it.

Do we follow these laws or not? If some don’t apply anymore, how do we know which ones to take seriously and which ones not to? Why would a loving God give laws that sound so foreign or even harsh to our ears today?

These are honest questions. And the truth is, Leviticus does matter but not in the way many people assume. It wasn’t written to us, but it was written for us. And when you look at it through the lens of Jesus, the entire purpose of the Law starts to make a lot more sense.

Why Leviticus Existed in the First Place

Before we start applying or dismissing the laws in Leviticus, we have to understand the setting. This book was given to a specific group of people Israel who had just been rescued from slavery in Egypt. They weren’t just starting a new religion; they were becoming a new nation, with God Himself as their King.

The laws in Leviticus weren’t meant to be a universal rulebook for all time. They were part of a covenant agreement between God and Israel. They shaped the way Israel worshipped, handled justice, stayed healthy, and lived differently from the pagan nations around them.

So when we read Leviticus, we’re stepping into a very different world a theocratic nation where spiritual, moral, civil, and cultural life were completely intertwined.

Not All Laws Were Created Equal

One of the biggest misunderstandings people have about the Bible is treating every law the same. But even within Leviticus, not all laws served the same purpose.

Traditionally, Christians have seen the laws as falling into three categories:

Moral laws: These deal with right and wrong in a timeless sense things like honesty, justice, and sexual ethics.
Civil laws: These were designed to govern Israel as a nation-state, covering everything from property rights to penalties for crimes.
Ceremonial laws: These focused on worship ritual purity, sacrifices, dietary rules, and festival observances.

When Jesus came, He didn’t scrap the Law He completed its purpose. He was the sacrifice the temple rituals pointed to. He fulfilled the purity requirements perfectly. The old covenant was never intended to last forever it was a shadow, and Jesus is the reality it was pointing to all along.

So while the ceremonial and civil laws no longer bind us today, the moral laws still reflect God’s heart and they’re reaffirmed in the New Testament.

What Changed When Jesus Showed Up

Jesus didn’t cancel the Old Testament law He fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17). That’s a big difference. Fulfilling the law means He accomplished what it was always meant to do.

Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus ushered in a new covenant. No more sacrifices at the temple. No more clean vs. unclean food lists. He is our high priest, our once-for-all sacrifice, and the one who makes us clean.

Instead of being under a written code, we’re now led by the Holy Spirit. God’s law isn’t just written on tablets it’s written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). That doesn’t mean “anything goes,” but it does mean we relate to God differently than Israel did under the old covenant.

Slavery in Leviticus

Let’s be real when people today read Leviticus and see verses about slavery, it’s jarring. Understandably so. Our minds jump straight to images of the transatlantic slave trade or race-based slavery in modern history, and we wonder, How could this be in the Bible?

But to get clarity, we have to slow down and understand what was actually going on.

First, the kind of “slavery” in ancient Israel wasn’t the same as what we usually picture. It was often more like indentured servitude a way for someone in deep poverty to work off debt or survive financially. In many cases, it functioned as a temporary arrangement with protections built in. Servants had rights. They were to be treated fairly. Abuse was condemned. And every seven years, Israel had a system of release so that servitude wasn’t permanent (Leviticus 25:39–43).

That doesn’t mean the system was perfect by our standards, or that we should try to revive it. But it does mean we can’t just project our modern ideas onto ancient texts and assume they’re identical. What Leviticus presents is a regulated, limited form of servitude within a specific cultural and economic framework not a divine endorsement of slavery as we know it from more recent history.

And let’s not forget: the trajectory of the Bible consistently moves toward freedom, dignity, and equality. The same Scriptures that skeptics criticize were also used by Christians to dismantle slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries. The gospel plants seeds of liberation, even if the soil was different back then.

Homosexuality in Leviticus

Another major point of contention is Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, which label same-sex relations between men as detestable. This is often thrown at Christians with a challenge: “You ignore verses about shellfish, but cling to this one why?”

It’s a fair question and it deserves more than a soundbite response.

As we talked about earlier, the key is understanding which laws were temporary (ceremonial or civil) and which ones reflect God's enduring moral will. When it comes to same-sex behavior, the Bible doesn’t isolate it as just a ritual or purity law it consistently frames it as a moral issue, not only in Leviticus but also in the New Testament (see Romans 1:26–27, 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, 1 Timothy 1:10).

So it’s not just an “Old Testament thing.” It’s part of a broader biblical ethic around sexuality that includes honoring marriage between a man and a woman, and viewing sex as something sacred not casual or self-serving.

Now, that doesn’t mean Christians should be judgmental or self-righteous about it. The point isn’t to single out one sin as worse than others. Every one of us falls short of God’s standard. But it also means we don’t get to rewrite the moral code just because parts of it are unpopular. The goal isn’t to be harsh it’s to be faithful.

And remember: Jesus didn't come to affirm our desires; He came to redeem us and call us to something better. No matter who we are.

How Christians Relate to the Law Today

This is where a lot of the confusion settles in especially for Christians who genuinely want to honor God but aren’t sure how the Old Testament fits into their faith. Some swing too far one way and treat the law like it’s completely irrelevant. Others go the opposite direction and try to follow every command to the letter, as if we’re still under the old covenant.

But Scripture doesn’t leave us guessing. The New Testament is crystal clear: we are not under the law, but we are also not without it.

Paul puts it like this in Galatians 3:24–25: “The law was our guardian until Christ came… now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” The law served its purpose it pointed us to our need for grace, exposed our sin, and prepared the way for Jesus. But once Christ fulfilled it, we no longer needed that old system to stand between us and God.

So what does that mean practically?

It means we don’t offer animal sacrifices or follow purity rituals. We don’t go to a temple to find forgiveness. Jesus already handled that once and for all.

But we also don’t live however we want. God didn’t remove the law just so we could do whatever feels good. Instead, He gave us something even better His Spirit.

Paul says in Romans 8:2 that “the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” That means we now live from the inside out, not by checking boxes or following rituals, but by walking in step with the Spirit of God.

The Spirit doesn’t lead us away from holiness He leads us into it. Not because we’re trying to earn anything, but because we’ve already been forgiven and made new. Grace doesn’t erase morality it empowers us to live it out in freedom and love.

So no, Christians aren’t bound by the old covenant laws in Leviticus. But that doesn’t make the book useless. It still teaches us about God’s holiness, the seriousness of sin, and the beauty of redemption. It shows us where we came from and who Jesus really is as the fulfillment of every symbol and shadow written in those pages.