Do the Old Testament laws still apply today?

Caller:Non-believers will point to the fact that in the Old Testament there are some regulations, such as stoning somebody for adultery, that don't appear in the New Testament, and they use that as a means of discrediting the Bible. What's a good answer for that?

Pastor Doug:When the children of Israel were under a

theocracy

and they were governed by God, they had no king, then breaking the Ten Commandments was punishable by death. Now not every time someone committed

adultery

actually was the punishment stoning. If two unmarried people committed fornication, there was a punishment where they had to get married and he had to pay a dowry. But now we're under a different government where God is not asking us to execute people who do not believe according to His Word. When they could see His presence in the camp with a pillar of fire every night there glowing above them, it was pretty outrageous to sin in the presence of God like that.