A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Deuteronomy 12 (Part 2)

Deuteronomy 12:5-12—5 “But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. 6 There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you. 8 You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes—9 for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. 10 But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, 11 then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD. 12 And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you.” 

Let’s look at that little phrase “Every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes”. This is a phrase we find twice in the book of Judges (Judges 17:6, Judges 21:25), and are in fact the last words in that book. When men turn away from God and do what they think is right and forget the One who says what is right and wrong, they set themselves up for all kinds of disaster. This is the theme of the book of Judges, as that was a time after the death of Joshua and the time when God would establish prophets in the land. And instead of looking to God’s Law to see what was right and what was wrong, they took it upon themselves to establish these things. Judges 2:13—They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. And what happens when the people of God forsake Him? He sends them judgment, and delivers them into the hands of their enemies. Judges 2:14-15—14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed. The people rose up to play, they ate and drank, they played the harlot with other gods, and God had to put them in their place, and remind them that they belonged to Him. God does not play around (as we saw in Numbers 11). When He says that the people were to do or to not do something, He is not speaking just to hear Himself talk. He expects the words e speaks to be listened to and obeyed. And if His words are disobeyed, He will bring judgment. 

But is He a God without pity? Absolutely not! Judges 2:16, 18—16 Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them…18 And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. The word “judges” in the Hebrew is שֹׁפְטִים (shiphtim, plural of the root word שָׁפַט, [shaphat, “to judge, govern, vindicate, punish” ]). God would not allow this infant nation to come to a halt so soon, for it would bring shame to His name, just as Moses had pleaded with Him twice (see Exodus 32:12-13; Numbers 14:13-19). So He showed them mercy, and raised up men (and one woman) whom He would be with and whom He would use to deliver them from the hands of their enemies. Othneil, Shamgar, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, Ehud and Deborah. When the people cast off YHVH, and followed other gods, the true God would allow them to go into captivity to a pagan nation. He would then raise up someone to deliver them, He would give them deliverance…and they would go right back to bowing down to idols. Judges 2:19—And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way. 

Judges chapters 1-2 are basically a summary of the whole book. Beginning in chapter 3 we read the details of the 450-year period of the judges. The first of these judges was Othniel. Judges 3:7-9—7 So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years. 9 When the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. Othneil was a nephew of Caleb, and thus saw the conquest of Canaan with his uncle Caleb and Caleb’s friend Joshua. He knew what it meant to have a heart for God, as he had seen it in his family. He had the same fighting spirit as his uncle, who told Joshua “Give me this mountain” (The mountain of Hebron, which were inhabited by the Anakim, in Joshua 14:6-14). He saw the fearlessness of his uncle and his desire to drive out those who opposed the people of God, and that same desire burned within him. And he delivered the people from the oppression of Cushan-Rishathaim. 

So who was Cushan-Rishathaim anyway? Well, we don’t have any information about him outside of the Bible. The ISBE tells us that his name means “Man from Cush, he of the twofold crime”, while Strong’s renders is “Twice-wicked Cushan”. Notice the first part of this man’s name, “Cushan”. (Thomas Constable believed the last part of his name was given to him by the Israelites who suffered under him for eight years.) This comes from “Cush”, a son of Ham (one of Noah’s sons, the one who disgraced him in Genesis 9:22). The Cushites mostly dwelt in Africa, but some settled in the land of Shinar (Mesopotamia, see Genesis 10:10). So this man was a descendant of Ham, and another wicked one (in fact, as his name implies, twice-wicked). Why would God allow this Twice-Wicked man to conquer the people of Israel? They forgot the LORD their God. So (according to one theory found in The Expositor’s Bible) this Mesopotamian king made an alliance with the Hittites (whose land he would have had to traverse to reach Canaan) to attack Israel and conquer them as they had conquered the peoples who were living in the land they now occupied. Because they forgot the LORD their God. So He gave them up to this alliance, let them feel the weight of oppression for eight years, then delivered them by the hand of Othniel. 

We see also in the New Testament that when men forsake God—any man, whether or not he is a man of God—he will be given over to his lusts, that God will cause him to forget and forsake God, and He will punish them for it. Romans 1:20-25—20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. The natural man knows there is a God. They may not know Him as YHVH, but they know He is there. This is why we are called to take the Gospel to the world, that they may know the truth about God and Christ—so the ones whom God has not yet delivered over to a debased mind may believe. It may turn out that they will not believe. This is sad but true. It is not until God opens their eyes that they will know the truth. But that is not what we are called to do. We are called to simply take the news to them—it is up to God to open their eyes and their hearts. 

For the ones who have already made up their mind, that they will not believe in God and do not want to believe in God—it may be too late. Romans 1:28—And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting. Once this happens, that door has been shut. Once God has given them over to a mind that wants nothing to do with God, and only wants to fulfill the wants of the flesh, it is too late for that person. They will not hear the truth, they will not believe the truth, and they will not be convinced by Scripture and sound reason of the truth. They will spend the rest of their days storing up wrath for themselves, filling up their measure of sin, their lives filled with nothing but waiting until the final judgment and their eternal fate. “But it is the will of God that all men repent and be saved!” So then man is superior to the will of God? If God wants all men to be saved, why does He give them over to a debased mind? Why doesn’t He give every single man the knowledge of the truth that they may be saved? Would this not be a delightful thing? Yes, to us it would be delightful. That would mean we wouldn’t have to worry about our loved ones or our friends burning in the Lake of Fire for all eternity. But that is not what He does. Some, God gave them over to a debased mind. So how do we reconcile these two ideas? We can, but it would take too long to talk about here and would get us off track. Suffice it to say, He wants all of His people to be saved (2^nd Peter 3:9, notice the apostle says that God is longsuffering to us. That is, believers). Those who do not believe and who do not want to believe, He gives over to their sin, and lets them have all of it they want. It is they who does whatever is right in his own eyes. 

Deuteronomy 12:3-27—13 “Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you. 15 However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike. 16 Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water. 17 You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand. 18 But you must eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all to which you put your hands. 19 Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land. 20 When the LORD your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, 'Let me eat meat,' because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires. 21 If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock which the LORD has given you, just as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires. 22 Just as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you may eat them; the unclean and the clean alike may eat them. 23 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat. 24 You shall not eat it; you shall pour it on the earth like water. 25 You shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD. 26 Only the holy things which you have, and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD chooses. 27 And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and you shall eat the meat.” 

Another lengthy section, but again we will break it up into smaller chunks. Also, these verses kinda jump around a bit so I will try to group them together to make them a little more understandable. 

Deuteronomy 12:13-14, 21-13, 26-27—13 “Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you…21 If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock which the LORD has given you, just as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires. 22 Just as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you may eat them; the unclean and the clean alike may eat them. 23 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat…26 Only the holy things which you have, and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD chooses. 27 And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and you shall eat the meat.” God would choose one place to put His name, and it was there—and only there—where the people’s sacrifices were to be taken. They would no longer have the pillar of smoke by day and the fire by night. They would have the Tabernacle of Meeting, which would reside in one city in one of the lands of a tribe. The first place where the Tabernacle rested in Canaan was the city of Gilgal, in the land that would become the land of the western tribe of Manasseh, just north of Jericho (see Joshua 4:19). In Deuteronomy 12:5 it says “But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.” Eventually, under King David, that city would be Jerusalem, and the place where He would put His name would be the temple there. Even King Darius said as much in Ezra 6:12—“And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem.” It was only in the place where God caused His name to dwell, whether Gilgal or Shechem or Jerusalem, where the people were to offer their sacrifices. The pagans, on the other hand, with their many temples and high places, offered up incense to their gods at various places. This was not to be so for Israel. There was to be one place where the people of Israel were to bring their sacrifices in worship of the one God. This was also true of the tithes of the land—they were also to be eaten in the place where God chose for His name to dwell (see Deuteronomy 12:17-18). 

21 “If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock which the LORD has given you, just as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires.”. When they were all of one camp, and the Tabernacle was set up in the center of all the tribes, it was not impossible for the people to bring their animals to the Tabernacle to make sacrifice. When they conquered the land of Canaan, and as God said He enlarged their borders, it would become more difficult, if not almost impossible, to do so. Let’s say a family lived in the land of Dan in the north, or in the land of Simeon to the south, and God placed His name at the other end of the entire land of Israel. This would be a trek of almost 150 miles, give or take—roughly the same distance as it was from Mt. Sinai to the southern edge of Canaan. So it would take 11 days to traverse the full length of Israel if this were the case. So God made provision for the people if this problem arose. He could take the animal to the Levite that lived in his land, and they could slaughter it and offer it to God for their sacrifice. And they could eat as much of it as they wanted to. 

But for their daily food, they could eat it at any place within the gates of their city. Deuteronomy 12:15-16, 20—15 “However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike. 16 Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water…20 When the LORD your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, 'Let me eat meat,' because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires.” If a man had been out hunting, and brought home a deer or a gazelle, they could eat of these, assuming they were properly slaughtered and the blood drained out (see the discussion of ingesting blood in our covering of Leviticus 17 here), both he and his family, within the city of his residence. And even if his son or daughter were unclean by reason of touching a dead body or because of some other uncleanness, they could eat of it as well. In Leviticus 17, we saw that any man who slayed an animal did not bring it to the Tabernacle was to be cut off from the people (see Leviticus 17:3-4). They had manna to eat, a daily gift from God, and did not involve the death of an animal. If a man wanted to sacrifice an animal as a Peace Offering, he had to bring it to the Tent of Meeting where it would be processed by the priests, and he could partake of it over the next two days (see here and here). But he could not go out and kill one of his livestock for a meal. But now he can. If he brings home some venison, and slaughters it properly and drains the blood, his family is gonna eat good. He does not need to bring it to the Tabernacle as a Peace Offering. 

Why? Because it is ““The blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.” He was now giving the people meat to eat—meat that they craved so badly in Numbers 11 He was now giving them as a blessing. And if they had flocks or herds, they could eat of them as well. John Gill:

 

They might kill such cattle that were allowed for food, and eat the flesh of them in their own cities and houses in which they dwelt; they were not obliged to bring these to the place God should choose, and kill them there, as they had been wont to bring them to the tabernacle while in the wilderness…whatever they had a mind to, or their appetite craved, and were desirous of, provided it was not anything forbidden, but was allowed to be eaten…[whatever God gave] in the power of their hands to procure for themselves; they might live according to their abilities, and keep a table answerable to what God had blessed them with; from which they were so far from being restrained, that it was rather commendable in them so to do. 

God gives us food. He gives us what we need. We can eat what we want, and it does not defile us (see Matthew 15:11; Mark 7:18). We are not cut off from Christ if we eat a pork chop. We can eat whatever we want, because we know the difference between the clean and the unclean, between the holy and the profane. We are not commended to others by food. 1st Corinthians 8:4-8—4 Concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. 7 However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse. Paul was telling the Corinthians that even if they did eat meat that was once offered to idols, that was not the end of them. They were now in Christ, sheltered from the Law, protected from dietary rules and restrictions which could make no man better or worse in the eyes of God. They were now free to eat what they desired—with one caveat. Don’t let your freedom in Christ become a stumbling block to a new or potential believer. 1st Corinthians 8:9—But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. Are you witnessing to a Muslim? Then don’t eat pork. Are you witnessing to a Hindu? Don’t eat beef. Are you witnessing to a vegan? Don’t eat meat at all (and don’t show up to their house wearing a real leather jacket). Be free in Christ, live your liberty—but don’t use that liberty in a way that could dampen your witness to the lost. 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 3 (Part 1)

We’re going to skip chapter 2, as it is simply a numbering of the various tribes and move on to Numbers 3:1-10— 1 Now these are the records of Aaron and Moses when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to minister as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu had died before the LORD when they offered profane fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.  5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. 8 Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death."

First thing we need to remember is this: Everything in all of creation belongs to God. Even people. Psalm 24:1— The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. God would have been perfectly righteous to declare “every single soul on Planet Earth shall come before Me to serve Me”. And who could argue with Him? It all belonged to Him anyway. But He doesn’t. He says “I will take the Levites, they will belong to Me, they will be in My service”. So let’s go through this passage.

Numbers 3:5-13—5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. 8 Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death. 11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 "Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, 13 because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the LORD.”

Aaron was to be the High Priest. He was the chief of all who were to go between man and God. But remember, there were over 600,000 people in the camp of Israel. And they were all sinners, as everyone is. And the depth of their sin was exposed when Moses was atop Mt. Sinai receiving the Law from God, and before he could even come down they were already throwing a drunken orgy in front of the Golden Calf that they convinced Aaron to make. So whoever it was going between man and God was going to be busy. Especially when you take into account all the details of all the various sacrifices, what animals were to be brought, male or female, how they were to be prepared, what to do with the blood, etc etc etc. Not to mention having to inspect the people and their houses for possible leprosy.

Now, remember, this was under the Old Covenant. And under this Old Covenant, only Levites could serve in the priesthood. And when one priest died, or one High Priest died, they were replaced. So this priesthood was transferred from one man to another to another, throughout successive generations. As it says in Hebrews 7:23—Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. And this is a place where we say “But God…” He gave to us a New Covenant, with a better High Priest, namely our Lord Jesus Christ. And the good thing about Him is, He is not dead, as He lives forevermore. And because He lives forever, His priesthood is forever. Hebrews 7:24—But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. No more need for going through the divisions of the priesthood to see who will sprinkle incense and offer prayers today or tomorrow or the next day. No more deciding who will be High Priest today or tomorrow. We now have one Priest, both now and forever, and He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).

You may ask, “But Jesus isn’t from the tribe of Levi, He is from Judah”. And this is true. But remember, New Covenant. The Old Covenant, with all its rules and regulations, and its imperfections because of men’s weaknesses (Romans 8:3), could redeem no one simply because they did their best to keep it. So a New Covenant had to be made. External commands could save no one, as they were always being broken and the burning flesh of bulls and goats could not take away their stain (Hebrews 10:4). If we were to be redeemed to God, we needed a better and eternal sacrifice. And for this, we needed a better and eternal High Priest. And it had to be One who did not come from the tribe of Levi.

Why? Simply to show that this High Priest was offering a sacrifice better than the Law. If He were from the tribe of Levi, the people—especially the Jews—would think salvation came from the Law. However, Galatians 2:16—knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. So now we have a New Covenant, a better and eternal sacrifice, mediated by a better and eternal High Priest, to redeem us from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13).

Us. Sinful, wretched us!!! Us who for however long turned our backs on God, despised God, rebelled against God, violated His Law and ignored His salvation! And yet, here comes the Lion of Judah—a different tribe entirely from the tribe of Levi—to become our High Priest, to become our perfect and eternal sacrifice, that we may be reconciled to the very God we hated! The very God in whose face we spit came and offered Himself as the sacrifice. Think about it! When the Roman guards were beating Christ and spitting on Him and mocking Him. They were not doing these things to a mere man. They were beating and spitting on and mocking—God! Were they any different than us? No. They were not

Isaac Watts said it quite well—

Alas! and did my Savior bleed,/and did my Sovereign die!
Would he devote that sacred head/for sinners such as I?

Was it for crimes that I have done,/he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!/And love beyond degree!

 (“Alas And Did My Saviour Bleed?”)

 The blood of Bulls and goats could not take away sin. They can cover them up, but can never take them away. Hallelujah! He wrote in another place-

 

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were a present far too small.

Love so amazing, so divine,

demands my soul, my life, my all.

(“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”)

What do many hold onto on this Earth, what do many prize more, what do many not want to rid themselves of, in exchange for the eternal goodness and beauty of our Lord Jesus! May it never be with those of us who love Him! There are about a thousand more rabbit holes I could go down, but I won’t.

Look at the last part of Numbers 3:10—“But the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” Only the Levites were to perform any work in the Tabernacle of Meeting. Anyone who was not a son of Aaron could not come near to the Tabernacle of meeting to perform priestly duties, lest God Himself wipe that person out. “But that’s not fair, shouldn’t everybody have a chance???” The short answer: no. The longer and more detailed answer: also, no.

Again, God has a certain way He wants things done. And if you go against the way He wants things to be done, you will incur His wrath and you run the risk of being destroyed on the spot. Just ask Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-2). God declared that only the incense that was made according to His specifications was to be used on the altar. They said “we’ve got a better idea” and…..*poof*

Part 2 next week

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

"Paul never quoted Jesus!" (Romans part 2)

The second installment of this series showing the ignorant and scoffer the many times when Paul did, in fact, quote the things said by our Lord--albeit, perhaps, not word-for-word. We continue in Romans.

Romans 9:3-5--For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
Matthew 23:37-39--"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate!"

Romans 9:6-8--But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
John 8:37-41--“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.”

Romans 9:22-26--...even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved.” “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
Matthew 8:8-12--The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 15:24-28--But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Romans 10:3-4--For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Matthew 5:6, 20--"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled...For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

Romans 10:8-13--But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Luke 17:20-21--Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
John 3:16--"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Matthew 10:32-33--"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."

Romans 11:7-8--What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: "God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day."
Matthew 13:13-15--"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'"

Romans 11:17-18--And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
John 15:1-6--"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned."

Romans 12:4-8--For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
John 17:20-23--"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."

Romans 12:14--Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Luke 6:27-28--"But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you."

Romans 13:5-7--Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Matthew 22:18-21--But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar’s." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s."

Romans 13:8-10--Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Matthew 22:37-38--Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
John 13:34-35--"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Romans 14:14-21--I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit...Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food...It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
Matthew 15:10-11, 15-20--When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man"...Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

Romans 16:17-18--Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
Matthew 10:16--"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Sexual Sins (Leviticus 18, part 1)

So now we arrive at Leviticus 18. This chapter deals with sexual sins. And in this chapter dealing with sexual sins, we find that God does not deal in loopholes. He knows the human heart, and He knows that when He gives us commands, we are bound to try and wiggle our way out of judgment by saying “Well, yeah, You said we couldn’t do A, B and C—but you didn’t say anything about D, E, or F.” And as He lays out these prohibitions, telling the people “You may not lay with this one or that one or the other one,” He shuts down any loopholes the people may imagine. Then, after the prohibitions against various forms of incest, God lays out prohibitions against the other various forms of sexual sin the people may be inclined to do. And if there is one thing to note about all these eighteen prohibitions, it is this: none of us (that is, none with a logical and rational mind) would object to seventeen of them. But today there is an ever-growing chorus of the population who would say that one of those prohibitions is not fair, and should be done away with. This chorus has not come along only recently, but has been around for quite some time, and its voice is growing exponentially over not simply years, but as months (even, shall we say, weeks? Days?) go by. Sadly, there are many in this chorus who claim the name of Christ (although He may not claim them). And as we read along, we will see the lunacy and hypocrisy of their position. That said, let us begin with the opening words of this chapter.

Leviticus 18:1-5—1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘I am the LORD your God. 3 According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances. 4 You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the LORD your God. 5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.’” Before we go any further, we have come to a statement that teaches that under the old covenant men were kept (not saved, but kept) by adhering to a list of statutes and ordinances—but under the new covenant, men are saved (not kept, but saved) by faith in Christ.

Let’s look at verse 5 again. Specifically, the first part of verse 5: “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments.” Why did God spend so many words telling the people what He expected of them? Why did He tell Moses to write word after word, page after page, of all these statutes and principles that the people were to obey? Why? Well, we find that answer in the next part of this verse, “Which, if a man does, he shall live by them.” Under the old covenant, how was a man saved? By being perfectly obedient to each and every little rule and ordinance contained in these books of the Law. So then, we see that God gave these statutes and judgments so that: “if a man does [them], he shall live by them.” All a man had to do was be obedient—perfectly obedient—to this Law, and everything contained therein. Every single jot and tittle of this Law, if a man did them, would guarantee that he would be accepted into the presence of God. And out of the millions who lived under that old covenant, how many do you think were able to do that? Yeah, you're right. It was impossible.

But wouldn’t that make God unfair? I mean, why would He give people this Law, tell them that they had to live by it perfectly, condemn them if they didn’t—why would He command them to do all this, knowing they couldn’t do it? That’s not fair! That means God is not fair! No, He is not fair. And if you know Christ as your Savior, you should thank God every day that He’s not fair! Because if God was fair, we would have no hope, and would have no chance to be reconciled to Him, and we would have nothing to look forward to except for an eternity burning in the fires of Hell. If God was not fair, He would not have sent His Son to die for us. Yeah, God’s not fair—and I am so glad He isn't!!

So then, let’s talk a little about the phrase, “if a man does them, he shall live by them.” What did it mean under the old covenant? Well, it meant that if they did not do these things that God forbade, the person would not be put to death. He would not be “cut off from his people.” He would not suffer the physical death proscribed by this Law, Leviticus 18:29—“For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people.” As for their eternal state, I will not speak, but let the mighty Judge determine who was fit for His kingdom from among those who lived before the advent of the Savior of all men. We do know that, however, those who did commit such abominations as incest, bestiality, or homosexuality, would be put to a swift end, by the magistrates or by the hand of YHVH Himself. Now, under the old covenant, men had the Law of God, and the commands contained therein, so that “if a man does them, he shall live by them” and would not be “cut off from among his people.” But this is not the last place we find this principle. No indeed, we find Christ Himself, and His apostle to the Gentiles, showing the force, and extent, and meaning of this saying. For once the old covenant was done away with, and a new covenant ushered in, established upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6), a new meaning was given to the phrase “if a man does them, he shall live by them.”

First, consider the words of our Lord, as recounted to us by the faithful Gentile physician Luke. In chapter 10 of his gospel, we find Luke’s account of Jesus telling the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).  But what brings Christ to open His mouth with this parable? It is nothing less than a man trying to justify himself. A man who thought he was performing the letter of the Law—when in fact he was obedient to neither the letter nor the spirit of the Law he was seeking to use as his justification before God. The man thought he had it right, and was in fact not too far from having it right (as was the scribe in Mark 12:28-34). But should a man fall short of the perfection required by our Sovereign, he is counted as a most miserable rebel, and subject to the perfect condemnation of God, For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10). Yet if a man will but look to Christ, all of his shortcomings will be pardoned, and will be welcomed into that glorious kingdom. But we will address that in the conclusion of this section. For now, let us look at how Christ gave new meaning to the phrase “if a man does them he shall live by them.”

Luke 10:15-18—25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" 27 So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'" 28 And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live." The man knew what the Law said. He knew who the Law was speaking to. But he did not know what the Law meant. He thought that if he did good to his fellow Israelite, he was doing well. He did not understand, however, that even the Samaritan was his neighbor, and should have also received the good of his hand. He did not realize that the command to love the LORD your God meant that he should love even those with whom he did not agree. But even more than this, we find in these words of Christ that the clause that said “if a man does them” was not to be strictly applied to the 613 commands in the Law; neither did the clause “he shall live by them” refer simply to temporal life. The Law brought physical death. The Law could not impart life to anyone. Galatians 3:12—If there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. The only thing the person living under the Law could hope for was another day to exist in their body, in this world, and for their life to be extended for one more day—a day which still contained the threat of new temptations overtaking him and placing him under the condemnation.

Which is what the writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 9:12-15—12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. The goal of these sacrifices and ordinances was not to make anyone perfect. That was impossible. The Law could not make anyone perfect. It simply kept safe those who belonged to God, until the promise of faith came in the fulfillment of the Law by Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:19-24—19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made…21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law…23 Before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

And now, Christ, the Word of God, speaking not through the mouths of prophets but by Himself, is saying that it is love toward God, and toward your neighbor, that brings not simply another day of breathing air, but eternal life—everlasting life. And now, if a man loves the LORD God with all his heart, soul and strength, and loves his neighbor as himself, he will have life not simply in this world, but eternal life in the presence of God and the holy Lamb. It is not the keeping of rules and commands that saves a man. Romans 6:14—You are not under law but under grace. “But should we be telling people not to obey the Ten Commandments?” Well, if that’s what we were saying, then that is a fair question. But where does Paul ever make that suggestion? “Well, you're telling people that they don’t have to obey God’s rules anymore!” Again, if that were my intent, then I would have something to answer for. But that is not my intent. “But you're telling people—”

OK, let’s look at what Paul says immediately after his declaration that we are not under Law but under grace. Romans 6:15—What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Paul himself had heard the accusation that he was teaching people that they could sin just as much as they possibly could, just so long as they believed in Christ. Remember back when we first opened this lesson, that God does not deal in loopholes? He still doesn't. And yet there are those who say that is a person believes in Christ as their Savior, they can go on with their lives, committing all kinds of sin, living in whatever abominable lifestyle they choose—but they're saved because they “believe.” And that if one teaches the need for repentance from sin, that’s “Salvation by works” and we are somehow a “Closet Catholic™”. But their argument falls apart because of the words of Paul, who says, a few verses prior, 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? (Romans 6:1-2). The doctrine of the “Easy Believer” falls apart because, as Paul said, the one who has died to the Law, who truly loves God, is the one who considers sin to be as utterly repugnant to themselves as it is to God. As John Gill said:

 

“Sanctified persons are dead to sin; sin is not made their business, it is not their course of life; it is no longer a pleasure to them, but is loathsome and abominable; it is looked upon, not as a friend, but an enemy…to live in sin, is to live after the dictates of corrupt nature; and persons may be said to live in it, when they give up themselves to it, are bent upon it; when sin is their life, they delight in it, make it their work and business, and the whole course of their life is sinful: now those who are dead to sin, cannot thus live in it, though sin may live in them; they may fall into sin, and lie in it some time, yet they cannot live in it: living in sin, is not only unbecoming the grace of God revealed in the Gospel, but is contrary to it; it is detestable to gracious minds, yea, it seems impossible they should live in it.”

So then, the question may remain in the minds of some: “You say that we shouldn’t sin, but you have also said that we are not under Law. So then, what is this new meaning of the phrase ‘if a man does them, he shall live by them’ you keep talking about?” Only this: We who are in Christ have fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law. How? By faith in Christ, who fulfilled the Law for us. Romans 8:3-4—3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. And because Christ fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law for us, we then fulfill those requirements. How? By faith. “That sounds like so much double-speak! How do you justify these statements?” By continuing my appeal to the apostle of the risen Christ. And by his references back to our original text.

In another statement to the same Christians in Rome, he compares and contrasts the righteousness under the Law versus righteousness in Christ, and shows how Israel, who thought they were doing good by seeking to establish their own righteousness according to the Law were, in fact, now bringing condemnation upon themselves. Romans 10:1-5—1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them." Now, notice what Paul says in verse 4. Notice, he does NOT say Christ is the end of the Law—period. He says Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness. Men no longer need to try and make themselves righteous by adhering to a list of 613 commands and ordinances. Those have been fulfilled in Christ. For if you believe in Him, you will have finished the whole Law, you will have been counted righteous, and you will not be found wanting when you stand before the Great and Mighty Judge.

At one time, a man might be counted righteous who sought to keep the Law with his whole heart. But that was never the intent of the Law. The Law was never meant to show how good a man could be. Nay, it was given so that men may see just how vile and filthy they truly are. For even the one—or should I say, especially the one—who sees the righteousness of God and the unrighteousness of man in the Law is the one who uses the Law as it was intended, and considers himself unworthy of any mercy from God and, with Job, abhors himself in dust and ashes. Galatians 3:11-12—11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them." The man who was once the most vociferous teacher and expounder of Law-keeping, teaching men to perform, perfectly, every jot and tittle of the Law, and to seek for their own justification based on the righteous requirements of the Law. The man who once taught the keeping of every jot and tittle of that Law “which, if a man does, he shall live by them”—now, he is teaching the Galatians that keeping the Law is summed up in the word “faith.” How does the just man live? By the phrase that began Martin Luther's journey out of Rome and into the truth: The just shall live by faith. How does a man truly live? The man who does them shall live by them. So then, we can now conclude that life comes by faith in Christ, and His fulfillment of the Law on our behalf, and His taking upon Himself the curse that was meant for us who could not keep every jot and tittle of the Law. As Paul continued his thought, Galatians 3:13-14—13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. What could possibly be a clearer declaration do we need that we no longer seek to simply extend our temporal life by adherence to a list of 613 commandments—a list which, again, no one is able to adhere to perfectly. As John wrote, sin is transgression of the Law (1st John 3:4). To finish this section, I refer you to Jamieson, Fausset and Brown—

 

“Obedience to the divine law always, indeed, ensures temporal advantages; and this, doubtless, was the primary meaning of the words, ‘which if a man do, he shall live in them.’ But that they had a higher reference to spiritual life is evident from the application made of them by our Lord (Luke 10:28) and the apostle (Romans 10:5).”

 

In part 2 next week, we will actually discuss what the Law says about sexual sins

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testment Law--Leviticus 17 (Part 1)

 

Leviticus 17. We have now finished up with all the offerings and sacrifices. And now we move into some of the areas of the Law that deal with the everyday lives of the people. And in the following chapters, we will find commands and rules and statutes and ordinances and regulations and prohibitions and precepts that really don’t fall under the umbrella of the Ten Commandments. And as we move through these areas, we will see the problems that arise when we try to isolate the various parts of the Law from one another, and we try to say “Well, there are three separate laws. There is the moral law (the Ten Commandments) and the civil law and the ceremonial law. Christ fulfilled the ceremonial law, and the civil law was done away with. But we are still under the moral law, the Ten Commandments.” For example, in chapter 18 we will find all the commands pertaining to sexual conduct—the commands against incest and bestiality and homosexuality and so forth. And when we try to say that only the Ten Commandments apply today, then the homosexual can argue back, “Well, where does it say in the Ten Commandments that homosexuality is a sin?” And if one continues to hold to the position that the civil law was done away with, then the homosexual has won the argument, because the forbidding of homosexuality does not fall under the ceremonial, nor is it contained in the Ten Commandments.

So what is the answer? Actually, we already covered this at the outset of our study of the Law, way back in the introduction to Exodus. The truth of the matter is, the Law was meant to point to Christ—and it was fulfilled in Christ. However, Christ only fulfilled the Law on behalf of those who would believe in Him. The elect of God are no longer under the Law, no longer subject to its rules and penalties, because Christ fulfilled it for us. Romans 8:1-4—1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. In other words, if you are in Christ, the Law has no power over you. Paul tells us much the same thing again in Romans, this time in Romans 7:1-4—1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.

And in his strongest statement concerning the Christian’s relationship to the Law, he says in Romans 6:14—Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What does Paul mean when he says we are not under law? Well, allow me to take a moment to explain it. What Paul means when he says we are not under law is this—we, as Christians, are not under the Law. That’s it. That’s all the explanation there is. When Paul says we Christians are not bound by the Law, he means that we Christians are not bound by the Law. Consider all the requirements of the Law. Six hundred some-odd rules, regulations, commands, ordinances, statutes, rituals, washings, burnings, sacrifices, and so on and so forth. And if you transgressed the least of them you were in violation of God’s Law and in you may have found yourself in danger of being “cut off from your people”—that is, in danger of God Himself ending your very life. But we are no longer bound by this Law—we need not live every day of our lives in fear of breaking the least requirement. Psalm 130:3—If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

Now, does this mean we can live our lives as the pagans? As the heathens, the infidels who know not God? Since we are not under Law, does that mean that God will not hold people accountable for breaking—not only the least commands, but the greatest? That’s what it sounds like I'm saying, isn't it? Well, if that is your response to the knowledge that we are not under Law but under grace, do not think yourself wise. You are simply the latest in a line of such thinkers—a line that stretches back over the nearly 2000 years since Paul told us we are not under Law. In fact, Paul has already responded to you. Romans 6:15-18—15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. That is, if you want to love Christ with your lips, while serving your real master—sin—with your mind and body, then you will be paid the wages of sin. Notice Paul draws a very distinct line. There are two masters—sin, and righteousness. You can either serve sin, and receive the wages it pays, which is death (Romans 6:23). Or, you can serve obedience, which pays dividends that none other than God Himself can pay—that is, to be paid the wages of righteousness, and of holiness, without which no one can see God (Hebrews 12:14).

Consider God’s servant Job. Now listen, Job was a man who knew that no man was righteous before God, and that all men were sinners, and he had almost as much to say about that as any writer of Scripture

 Job 9:2-3—“2 Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God? 3 If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.”

Job 9:14-21—“14 How then can I answer Him, and choose my words to reason with Him? 15 For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge. 16 If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice. 17 For He crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause. 18 He will not allow me to catch my breath, but fills me with bitterness. 19 If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; and if of justice, who will appoint my day in court? 20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse. 21 I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life.”

Job 10:14-19—“14 If I sin, then You mark me, and will not acquit me of my iniquity. 15 If I am wicked, woe to me; even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am full of disgrace; see my misery! 16 If my head is exalted, You hunt me like a fierce lion, and again You show Yourself awesome against me. 17 You renew Your witnesses against me, and increase Your indignation toward me; changes and war are ever with me. 18 Why then have You brought me out of the womb? Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me! 19 I would have been as though I had not been. I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.”

Eventually, Job allowed his friends to talk him into thinking he was an awful man, who deserved what he had received, not understanding that God was testing him. Then, after God tells him to “gird up your loins like a man” (Job 38:3), and asks him nearly 90 questions about the creation of the universe, and asks Job if he can “draw out Leviathan with a hook” or if he can put a yoke on a monoceros and make him plow a valley, then Job sees himself for who he really is. And what is his response? Does he say, “Well, I must be pretty special if God talks to me!” No. Job 42:5-6—“5 I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

And just to show that this is not simply an Old Testament principle, the apostle Paul takes up Job’s attitude concerning the greatness of God and the depravity of man. For example, he tells the Philippians, that 4 If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless (Philippians 3:4-6). But did he stop there? Did he list these achievements and accolades and birthrights as though they were how he identified himself? Not hardly. He goes on to say, in the very next breath, 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:7-8). He uses nearly the same language when addressing his young protégé Timothy, and teaches his young charge that Christ Jesus came to save sinners, of whom I am chief (1^st Timothy 1:15). And, in what may have been his most heartfelt anguish over his inability to escape the dreadful plague which he carried about all of his days—even after meeting the risen Christ and devoting his life to his Master’s calling—he pours his heart out to the saints in Rome, and echoes Job’s repentance, in Romans 7:18-24 (NET)—18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me. 21 So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. 23 But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Now, just imagine, if we were still under the Law, and having the knowledge of sin that we now have—knowing that sin is not simply performing outward acts of rebellion against God, but that sin comes from within, seeing as how hatred is murder and lust is adultery—which of us could ever pour out enough blood from bulls and goats; how many of us could sprinkle enough ashes from red heifers; how many of us could ever meet the righteous requirements of the Law, since we would have to spend nearly every waking moment standing in line waiting for the priest to accept our sacrifice, if that animal was indeed good enough? Therefore, we who are in Christ Jesus are not under Law, but under grace. We do not see the Law as a cloud over our heads; we do not see the Law as an outward duty we must perform day after day after day. We see the Law as our guide to living a life that pleases God. Not in the killing of animals and sprinkling their blood—for Christ has shed His blood, fulfilling all the sacrifices. But rather, now, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:22).

With all that being said, what does the Law mean to those who do not know Christ? Are those people still under Law? Well, yes, they are. Not only those who have heard the gospel of God, but even those who have never heard the name Jesus will be judged by that Law. Why? Because it is that Law that shows us the righteousness of God. Psalm 119:142—Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth. Isaiah 42:21—“The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable.” And when those who have never even heard the words “Thou shalt not kill” know that killing another human being in cold blood is wrong; when those who have never heard the words “Thou shalt not steal” know they should leave their hands off their neighbor’s goods; when those who never hear the words “Thou shalt not commit adultery” know that they should remain faithful to their spouse; when these people know these things, they are proving that although they have never heard the Law of God, they do indeed know the Law of God. Romans 2:11-16—11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; 14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. Notice how Paul starts this section. He tells us there is no partiality with God. That is, God will not sit on His throne and say, “Well, I know you sinned, and you rebelled against My righteous requirements. But you didn’t have My Law, so I’ll let it slide. Come on in.” Among those who do not know Christ, the Gentile who does not hear the Law will be judged by the same Law as the Jew who does hear the Law, and the Gentile who does hear the Law. That same Law will judge all who die apart from Christ. Paul finishes up this argument in Romans 3:19-20—19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law—that is, all who do not know Christ and must, therefore, fulfill every single jot and tittle of that Law perfectly every single second of their lives, never transgressing that Law ever, even once—whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. The Law makes no one righteous. The Law simply tells us what is sinful, and shows us the ugliness and depravity of the human heart. This is accomplished by not only the Ten Commandments, but the whole of the Law.

Because every aspect of the Law shows us that God is holy and just and righteous, and in His mercy He has offered us a way to atone for our sins. And it is only by accepting and obeying His rules for atoning that our sins can be atoned for. We can make up all the silly things we want to, thinking that we are pleasing Him by creating our own righteousness. The greatest commandments in the Law—are they found in the Decalogue? No. they are found near the end of the Torah, in Deuteronomy. Under these two commands fall not only the Ten Commandments, but also the sacrifices and the civil code. Because all these show us what God expects, and they show us that God expects His people to be obedient. And disobedience has its consequences—we saw that when God struck down Nadab and Abihu for simply offering unapproved incense on the Altar of Incense. We would see that if we studied the life of King Saul, and how God took his kingdom away from him for offering sacrifices that were in clear violation of god’s commands. When God gives us commands, it is not up to us to question them. We are not under Law, but when we treat His Law as a trifling thing, we will fall under heavy punishment. Hebrews 10:26-29—26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

I say all that to set up the section of the Law we are about to deal with. This section of Law that contains statutes and ordinances not contained in the Ten Commandments. Because in these commands we find sinful conduct that God still considers sinful. And many of these commands do not fall under the Ten Commandments that many of us so brazenly hold up as the only standard by which a man is to live. Besides, if we make it to Deuteronomy, we will find the Ten Commandments repeated, mingled with many of the civil commands, and with many of the ceremonial requirements. So to try and extricate the Ten Commandments from the rest of the Law is folly, since neither God, nor Christ, nor Paul, nor any other writer of Scripture, ever separated the Law into three separate laws. It is one Law, not three.