A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Leviticus 19 (part 1)

There are certain phrases and principles that we have seen repeated throughout our study of the Law. We have seen that the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. We have seen that the things God considered sinful under the old covenant, He still considers sinful under the new covenant. And if there is one more principle that we need to understand, it is one which we have seen repeated again and again. That is, the fact that there is but ONE Law—there is not a “Moral Law” and a “Ceremonial Law” and a “Civil Law.” There are not three separate Laws, but one single Law. Nowhere, in either the Old Testament or the New Testament, does any writer break up the Law into three separate “Laws.” Nowhere does God ever distinguish between the various aspects of the Law. And although there are many well-intentioned (and some not-so-well-intentioned) men who teach that blood-bought Christians, living under the new covenant, are under the “Moral Law” (e.g., the Ten Commandments)—nowhere does God ever say that Christians are under any part of the Law. In fact, Paul says just the opposite, as we saw a few weeks back, Romans 6:14—You are not under Law but under grace. We will not delve back into that subject; you can go back and read it again if you wish.

And today, for those who still make the argument that these are three separate and distinct Laws, we have a section of the Law that does much damage to that line of thinking. For in this chapter, we find commands from all the various sections of the Law under one banner—that banner being the one raised up at the beginning of the previous chapter, Leviticus 18:5—The man who does them shall live by them. Remember one thing as you read your Bible—the chapter and verse divisions were not part of the original writing. Moses did not sit down and say, “OK, that finishes chapter 18 of Leviticus. Now, let’s start chapter 19.” This whole book was one long scroll, with no breaks or divisions. Just one after another of “And the LORD said.” So, really, chapter 19 is simply a continuation of chapter 18. With all that being said, let’s begin.

Leviticus 19:1-4—1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “2 Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. 4 Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the LORD your God.’” Now, we have previously read the commands listed here. And where did we read them? We read them way back in Exodus 20. God is here repeating four of the Ten Commandments. And for the one who breaks the Law into three Laws, which “Law” do these fall under? Civil, Ceremonial, or Moral? These would be considered part of the “Moral Law.” Now, let’s read on.

Leviticus 19:5-8—“‘5 And if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD, you shall offer it of your own free will. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. 7 And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. 8 Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from his people.’” OK, which “Law” is this? Civil, Ceremonial, or Moral? This would be the “Ceremonial Law.” And yet God lists these commands immediately after commands from the “Moral Law.” Let’s go a step further, shall we?

Leviticus 19:9-10—“‘9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God.’” OK, now this really throws us a curve. Under the banner of “If a man does these things, he shall live by them” we have this command to leave the corners of your field ungleaned and unharvested. Would this be part of the “Moral Law”? Not hardly. Would this be part of the “Ceremonial Law”? Nah, I don’t think so. Well, then, this must be a part of the “Civil Law.” But God groups this in with commands about honoring your father and mother, not making idols, keeping the Sabbaths, and commands surrounding the Peace Offerings. Now, if there are three separate Laws, how in the world does one cherry-pick which parts of the Law (or is it Laws?) still apply to Christians, of whom Paul says you are not under Law?

The answer is simple: there are not three separate, distinct Laws. There is but one Law. When Jesus was preaching the Sermon on the Mount, did He say “I have not come to destroy the Moral Law, but to fulfill it”? Did he say “I have not come to destroy the Ceremonial Law, but to fulfill it”? Did He say, “I have not come to destroy the Moral Law, but to fulfill it?” No. What did He say? Matthew 5:18—“I have not come to destroy the Law”—SINGULAR—“but to fulfill it”—SINGULAR. Most of those who separate the Law into Laws usually make the distinctions thus: Jesus fulfilled the “Ceremonial Law”; the “Civil Law” was only for Israel. However, the “Moral Law” (The Ten Commandments) is still binding on blood-bought Christians—Christians that Paul says are not under Law. To go even another step further, James says that if you want to try and keep even one small part of the Law in order to gain a right standing with God, you must keep the ENTIRE Law—not just one command, but ALL 613 COMMANDS FROM EXODUS THROUGH Deuteronomy. James 2:8-11—8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. Notice what he says in verse 9. Partiality is sin. Sin is lawlessness (1^st John 3:4). So showing partiality is lawlessness. And what is the penalty for sin (lawlessness)? Romans 6:23—The wages of sin is death.

So let’s apply this line of thinking to the separatist (the term we will use for one who separates the Law into three Laws). If there are three separate “Laws”, and Christians are still (and only) under the “Moral Law”— how is it James says that showing partiality is sin? Where is showing partiality found in the Ten Commandments? It isn't. So then, when we tell someone that the church is still (and only) bound to the Ten Commandments, we make James a liar, since he tells us that showing partiality—an act of rebellion that is not found in what the separatist calls the “Moral Law”—is sin (and sin separates us from God). Furthermore, what does James tells us it means to fulfill the Law? James 2:8—If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Now, which of the Ten Commandments is this? It isn't. This command is not found anywhere in the Ten Commandments—and yet James (as well as Paul and, most importantly, our Lord) tells us that this is one of the two most important commands. All these tell us that one fulfills the Law—the WHOLE…LAW, not one law out of three—by loving one’s neighbor as himself. This is the only command that is binding on the church under the new covenant. And it is binding only because Jesus tells us this is the only commandment He would leave us. John 13:34—“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” Now, He did not give this command as a way of saying, “If you do this, then I will save you.” On the contrary, what did He say in the very next verse? John 13:35—“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Rather than saying “Do this, and I will save you” He is saying “If you do this, you will show the world that you are saved.” Just the opposite concept the Pharisees had in mind, in all their years going around saying that one had to do the whole Law if they wanted even a chance to be saved.

And speaking of the Pharisees, even they knew there was but one Law, and that the Law was not simply the Ten Commandments. Consider the answers of two separate Pharisees when confronted by Christ. In Mark 10:17-22, in the account of the Rich Young Ruler, the man asks the Lord how he may gain eternal life. Mark 10:18-20—18 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" 20 And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." Are the Ten Commandments part of the Law? Of course. Are they the entirety of the Law? No. Are they even a summarization of the entirety of the Law? NO. Where do we find the summarization of the Law? We find one in Leviticus (in the very chapter we are currently studying), and the other doesn't come along until we get to Deuteronomy. In fact, we see another Pharisee give Jesus the proper answer to the question of “Which is the greatest commandment”—and the man does not even crack the Ten Commandments. Luke 10:25-28—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." One Pharisee agreed that the Ten Commandments were part of the Law, the other Pharisee agreed that the Law went far beyond the Ten Commandments. They were both right in that respect. And, like any “good” Pharisee, they wore broad phylacteries, containing pieces of parchment upon which was written the greatest commandment—none of the ten—but rather, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.” Even the Pharisees knew that there were not three separate “Laws”, but rather one LAW.

Now, we come to a section that contains commands which may seem to us to be arranged in a rather miscellaneous order. I don’t know why God chose to arrange these commands in this order, but He did, and He had a very good reason for doing so. And since there are so many, and some are rather self-explanatory, I think we would do good to give a cursory discussion on each. So, Leviticus 19:11-12—“‘11 You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” OK, quick—are these civil, ceremonial, or moral? They are moral, right straight out of the Ten Commandments. These would be, respectively, the fifth, eighth, and third commandments.

Leviticus 19:13—“‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning.’” How many of us work for an employer that does NOT violate this command? Unless you are a day laborer, you work for an employer that breaks this command on a regular basis. After all, unless you are a day laborer, do you get paid the same day for the labor you provide? No. You and I get paid either weekly, or bi-weekly, or even monthly. Now, let’s talk a little about this command. Is this civil, ceremonial, or moral? It’s obviously not ceremonial, so is it civil or moral? Actually, it’s a little bit of both. And it is commands like this that trip up the separatist. Because this is a civil command that is actually an expansion of a moral command. Here, God equates holding back wages until morning with theft. God considers that to be robbery. “But it’s a civil ordinance!” says the separatist. See how hard it is to cherry-pick the so-called “Moral Law” out from in between the civil commands? And furthermore, disobeying the civil/moral commands brings about the ceremonial. I hope this continues to become clear.

Leviticus 19:14—“You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD.” Doesn't the fact that God felt He needed to give men this command speak to the need for men to have this command? Does this not show that man is a morally depraved creature? And that there are some who derive pleasure from mocking and putting additional burdens on those who do not have all their physical faculties? But this command is one that has more ominous overtones if we consider them. And when (or, if) we get to that section in the book of Numbers, we will see God become angered against Balaam for trying to curse Israel, and put a stumbling block before them (and will see that Israel did indeed stumble over that block).

 What God commands here is that we not make life more difficult for those who cannot see and/or hear. But the apostles add a spiritual dimension to it in their epistles. Paul says in Romans 14:6, 14-15—6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks…13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. 14 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. 15 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. He tells the church at Corinth the same thing in 1^st Corinthians 8:9-12—9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Consider the ominous warning He gives at the end of Leviticus 19:14—“You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD.” If you cause the blind or deaf to stumble, God will avenge. And if we put a spiritual stumbling block before our brother, rather than pick him up in a spirit of meekness when he stumbles, God will avenge. 1^st Corinthians 5:1-6—1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father's wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you…5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Galatians 6:1—Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. We who possess the fullness of physical capacities should never do anything to harm those who cannot see the danger in front of them, nor hear the reviling of those who curse them. Rather, we should do all we can to assist them in their days on earth. Even more importantly, spiritually speaking, we who are trained in the Scriptures should do all we can to assist those who do not know the truth—either the new brother, or the one who has sat for years under false teachers—that their eyes may be open to the truth, and that their ears may be opened to hear the truth, that they may turn from the danger of Hell before them and walk instead into the kingdom of God and the Son of His love.

Part 2 next time

 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

Permalink: "Paul NEVER quoted Jesus!!"

Well, actually, he did

 

 

Romans (part 1)

Romans (part 2)

1st Corinthians

2nd Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1st and 2nd Thessalonians

1st Timothy,2nd Timothy,Titus

"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--Do Not Offer Your Children To Molech (Leviticus 18)

 Now, let us pick up the warning found in Leviticus 18:21—“And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” The worship of Molech (or, Moloch) was one of the most savage, most brutal, most depraved and abominable wickednesses to ever come upon the face of the earth. Molech was a god of the Ammonites, and was a part of their worship of the sun. The Ammonites inhabited the land that was known as Canaan, the land which God would deliver His people to. He was depicted as a being having the body of a man and the head of a bull. And when the Ammonites built statues of him, they would construct it so that the arms would be outstretched so it could receive the victim, who would be sacrificed alive. There are many theories about how the sacrifice was carried out. They all, however, include placing a firstborn child in either the arms or belly of this big brass man/bull. The statue was then heated by fire, the child placed in the hands or belly, and drums being played loud enough to drown out the screaming. Some later accounts tell of a statue that was constructed so that when a man was placed inside, the man’s screams would come out sounding like the bellowing of a cow.

Does this sound barbaric? It should. It was. This was one of the various forms of worship adopted by the pagan neighbors of Israel. And while it would be detestable to the physical senses, it appealed to one thing: there was a visible representation. Every pagan society had some sort of representation for their deities. The God of Israel, however, has no shape, nor form. Deuteronomy 4:15-18—“15 Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth.” As they intermingled with these other nations, it must have become very trying on them, when someone would ask them, “What does your God look like?” and having to say “Our God has no form.” And seeing these temples built to these gods that looked like birds and bulls and fish and so forth, hearing these people scorn them because they worship an “invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). And even as detestable as Molech worship was, they had something they could see and feel and handle.

You may say, “well, how could these people see this barbarism and actually leave the worship of the true God and follow that?” And, again, I must tell you, the fact that this command is in the Law shows that the people were capable of it. Do we need a law that says “don’t murder”? Do we need laws that say “if it ain't yours, keep your hands off it”? Do we need laws to tell us that these things are wrong? The fact that we have them is proof that we need them. Because left on our own, man is a wicked and depraved creature. What other species kills its own over stuff? Over choosing a mate? Over anything besides the fact that the other animal is food? And yet these Israelites, who had seen the mighty hand of God destroy the firstborn of Egypt that they may go free, then open a huge body of water so they could walk on dry land (and then close those waters on her enemy), and give them bread day after day after day after day—still God needed to remind them not to offer their children to be tortured and roasted in a big brass statue of a false pagan ‘god’.

Now, after God commands the people about all these sexual sins, and offering their children to Molech and forbidding homosexuality, he tells them Leviticus 18:23—“Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.” We already covered this in Exodus 22:19, so we won’t cover it again. But I find it not ironic that God places the prohibition against homosexuality in between pagan idolatry and bestiality.

While we’re on these subjects, let’s skip over to Leviticus 20, where we find the penalties for all these abominations. And they all say pretty much the same thing: If you do any of the things listed in Leviticus 18, you will be put to death, or God Himself will strike you down. There are a few verses in chapter 20 we won’t cover here; we’ll get to those when we get there. In the meantime, Leviticus 20:1-5—1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “2 Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: 'Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. 4 And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, 5 then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.” Not only will the worshipper of Molech be stoned with stones, but if you know that person is worshipping Molech, and you don’t stone him—God will get you Himself. But what do we have today in some churches—or, rather, those groups that call themselves a ‘church’? Tolerance. Pacifism. Passiveness. Fear of calling sin ‘sin’. They don’t want to offend anyone, so when someone comes along with some harebrained idea about God, they are all too quick to say, “Oh, sure, if that’s what you believe, great! We’re open minded! In fact, we’re so open-minded our brains are leaking out!” Well, they won’t say that last one.

That kind of thing has been going on since the giving of the Law; it was going on in the days of the early church. What was the assessment Paul made of the Corinthians? 2^nd Corinthians 11:18-19—18 Seeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast. 19 For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise! I like how the KJV says it, ye suffer fools gladly! The Corinthians weren’t always swift about putting out those who were preaching falsely. If they were, then Paul could have stopped with 1^st Corinthians. Time and time again, the New Testament writers tell us to put sin away from us; put leaven away from us; be wise as serpents; walk circumspectly, and so on and so forth. Because if we let sin in the door of the church; if we do not put out the doctrines of devils, then that leaven will fester and devour the church. And in fact, even the last book of the Bible talks about this kind of thing. Jesus tells John to write the following to the church at Pergamos, Revelation 2:13-16—“13 I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.” Jesus says the same thing here that either He or the Father said in Leviticus 20. Either get rid of the cancer, or God will do it Himself.

Leviticus 20:10-21—“‘10 The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. 11 The man who lies with his father's wife has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law…13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman …14 If a man marries a woman and her mother…15 If a man mates with an animal…16 If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal…17 If a man takes his sister, his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing…18 If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood…19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister nor of your father's sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt. 20 If a man lies with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness…21 If a man takes his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness. They shall be childless.’” I’ve shortened these verses quite a bit, because the penalties for these things is either (a) they shall be put to death, or (b) they shall be put to death. If you sleep with your aunt or uncle or your brother’s wife, you die childless. Period. Paragraph. No loopholes. No “Well, I know you two were in a loving, monogamous relationship between two consenting adults. So I’ll go ahead and let you off the hook.” Under none of these conditions can you make an emotional appeal to God. He said it; it’s written down; you know it. Do it—and die.

Leviticus 20:22-26—“‘22 You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them. 24 But I have said to you, "You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 26 And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.’” Does creation have any problem obeying God? When God tells the wind to blow, does it blow? When God tells the rain to fall, does it fall? Job 38:8-13—“8 Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb; 9 when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; 10 when I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; 11 when I said, ' This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!' 12 Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, 13 that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?” Every day, the earth turns in its place; every single moment of time the stars give their light; every few hours the tides rise and fall. Jesus said that even the rocks would shout if His people were silent (Luke 19:40). Paul said that all of creation is awaiting the day when it will no longer be subject to the curse of sin (Romans 8:22). The whole earth, in that moment after its Redeemer breathed out His last breath on the cross, trembled because of Him (Matthew 27:51).

All of creation goes along as it should. If you asked one hundred people, “Does nature always do what it should?” you would probably get just as many people saying “No” as you would get saying “Yes.” And why is that? Well, it depends on whose perspective they're using. From man’s perspective, no, nature doesn't always behave the way we want it to. Whenever a hurricane or earthquake or tsunami strikes, so many people say something like “This is nature gone wrong!” No, that is nature doing what it was supposed to do. It was doing what God told it to do. But who is it that rebuked the winds and waves? Who commanded a flood to destroy every person but eight?

Even animals know to obey the voice of God. When God was about to bring the flood, and He sent Noah to gather the animals, did Noah have to go chasing the cats from up in a tree? Did he have to keep the lions from tearing the zebras apart? No. Genesis 7:13-15—13 On the very same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark—14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. When they tested Jesus about the temple tax, and our Lord told Peter to cast a line into the sea and pull out a fish—that fish swam to the line, and allowed itself to be caught. Matthew 17:24-27—24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?" 25 He said, "Yes." And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?" 26 Peter said to Him, "From strangers." Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. 27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you." Jesus warned Peter that he would deny the Lord three times before the rooster would crow twice. And right on cue, the rooster crowed. Mark 14:72—A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times." And when he thought about it, he wept. When God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh, and the reluctant prophet hopped a ship headed for Tarshish, God had a whale waiting to catch him when his fellow passengers tossed him into the drink. Jonah 1:17—Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. You get the idea. And we have a passage that ties this whole principle together, in Isaiah 1:3—“The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib…”

BUT “…But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.” But we humans are a stubborn bunch. We know who God is…but we also think we know who should be God. We know that if we ran things, they’d go a whole lot smoother. We have such an iron-clad grasp on what needs to be done that if God would just get out of the way, this world would be a whole lot better. OK, that’s enough sarcasm for the time being. We humans couldn’t run things better. We only think we could. And isn't that the root of sin? Wasn’t that one of the very first lies ever told? “You shall be like God” (Genesis 3:5). And how did Satan know what to use in tempting our first parents? “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). For we know that Satan was the most prideful of all creatures, one who was so arrogant and full of self-love that he could overpower the Almighty Sovereign. Isaiah 14:12-14—“12 How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’” Five times the Accuser of the Brethren tells God what he will do—and yet with one word, God could have sent him and his minions to the deepest depths of Gehenna. Yet he didn’t. Instead, He cast him down to earth, knowing that he would cause chaos and ruin among the sons of Adam.

And now, it is not only Lucifer, Son of the Morning, who spends his days declaring “I will…I will…I will…” For even from the day we draw our first breath upon exiting the womb, do we not also spend all our days declaring “I will…I will…I will…”? And is this not presumptuous on our part? We set out to go to the store which is just around the corner and what do we tell our loved one? “I’ll be right back.” Yet do we even know we will return? Though it may be five minutes each way, are we really guaranteed a safe passage to and fro? We may think in our heart (and with no malice aforethought) “Surely, it is just a short trip. I know the route, there is seldom if ever any traffic on this route at this time of day. The sun is shining, the roads are clear. What could possibly happen?” Well, plenty could happen. As long as there are two vehicle traveling on the same stretch of road, anything can happen. Now, we may not think we are being pretentious when we say “I’ll be right back”, but we are, indeed, making an assumption that nothing untoward will happen to us. But it is God who appoints the extent of our days, and if it is the end of our time here on earth, then nothing will stay the hour. James 4:13-15—13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." Or, instead of “I’ll be right back” we could say, “I should be back soon.” For we do not know what will happen even five minutes from now.

Why do I say all this? What does this have to do with the people of Israel and God’s commands, and His warnings about them keeping His commands? Let’s read the last few verses of Leviticus 18 and we’ll see what all this means. Leviticus 18:24-30—“‘24 Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. 26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the LORD your God.’” All creation knows that God is god. All creation is subject to God, and moves and acts as it is directed by God. Yet consider man, the crown of God’s creation, endowed with abilities far above those of any other part of creation. Man, of whom God said his creation was not simply “good” but “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Man, of whom the Psalmist said, Psalm 8:4-8—4 What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen—even the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. This same Man whom God ordained should be the watcher over all of His creatures, this Man whose intelligence is far superior to the beasts—and yet this same Man is more quickly able to forget His God than the beasts of the field or even the rocks in the wilderness.

Is this not absurd? How is it that Man is, in certain respects, dumber than a rock? Look at the warning God gives the people: He says if you forget Me, the land will cast you out. Think about it! In one breath, He says “You people will forget all the good I have done for you. And when you do, the land—the sand, the rocks, the mountains, the grass, the fields; all these things which are dumb and unintelligent, and have no ability to think or speak or move or do anything but grow and exist—these dumb things will obey Me more than you will.” Not just “I will drive you from the land” but “The land will spew you out.” Just as the rains obeyed and covered the earth; just as the Red Sea obeyed and stacked itself on top of itself; just as the wind and waves ceased their tumult with a word from our Lord; just as the rooster crowed when Peter denied his Lord thrice—so the land itself would obey the will of its Maker and thrust out the proud, stiff-necked, rebellious children of Israel for following after the ways of their heathenish neighbors. The land—the mute, unmoving, unthinking, unintelligent rocks and sand would do what these people with all their intellect could not do.

Now, if you are still a rebel; if you still think that you are above reproach; if you think that you have obtained righteousness by your own merit—are you still feeling good about yourself? If you are, then the force of God’s warning has not yet hit home for you. Because you and I are not that much different from the Israelites. You and I are just as fallen and sinful and wretched and vile as those to whom God gave these warnings. You and I are not above forgetting our God; you and I are not above relying on our own fleshly wisdom to guide us; you and I are just as likely to fall flat on our face as these disobedient children of the old covenant. And when we fall, be sure that God will see and, if He is gracious, will open our eyes to see the folly of our thinking. The writer of Hebrews, in quoting a passage of the Law (Deuteronomy 8:5), tells us that even now, under the new covenant, God corrects us so that we may see the errors we commit. Hebrews 12:5-6—5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." Have you disobeyed your father in Heaven? Has he chastened you and scourged you, that you may remember your transgression and not repeat it? Then rejoice, for He truly is your Father in Heaven. But, if you have disobeyed His voice, and He has not laid stripes upon your back, be wary—for if He has not punished you, then you perhaps do not belong to Him.

But if the Holy Spirit lays upon your conscience the weight of your sins, then be glad—for this is the first step to being reconciled to god. For even as God brought to mind the weight of the Israelites’ sins by driving them out of the land, time and again, that they may remember the covenant He made with their fathers, so He will bring to your mind the weight of your sins against Him, that he may purify you by the blood of the new covenant which Christ Jesus shed for you—if you will indeed hear His voice and run to Him for shelter. Psalm 95:6-11—6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: 8 "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. 10 For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.' 11 So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'" Those who did not believe did not enter the rest of YHVH. This is a true and faithful saying even today. For the writer of Hebrews—who was, in fact, a Hebrew writing to Hebrews—repeats this warning even for us who are under, not an old covenant based on the works of the Law, but under the new covenant, based on better promises (Hebrews 8:6), when he tells us in Hebrews 3:12-15—12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

Do not harden your heart. Do not be too smart for your own good. Turn away from your vile human works, done to earn a righteousness you cannot earn. Do not be led astray by those who say you must “do this and do that” in order to boast of your works (Ephesians 2:9). But know the grace of our God and Father; ask god to open your eyes to the grace of our God and savior Jesus Christ; and when the Holy Spirit of God lays on your conscience the weight of your rebellion against God, do not be as those in the wilderness who turned away from the living God and were spewed out by the land. Rather, cling to Christ; know that your works will not make you righteous, but will rather bear witness against you, that although you heard the truth of grace in Christ, you rested your hope of salvation in yourself and your own so-called “goodness” and your own self-“righteousness.” It was this righteousness which the scribes and Pharisees possessed, and which Jesus said your righteousness must exceed. Therefore, seek the righteousness which is not of the Law, but which is of Christ by faith. Do not be puffed up with your own wisdom, but humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, lest you harden your heart and be found wanting and rejected at His coming.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Sexual sins (Leviticus 18, part 2)

 So now we come to the list of sexual relations that were (and still are) considered to be abominable in the sight of our Lord. And yet, there are some today who look upon one of these perversions with favor, and who do not understand why there are some of us who preach against such perversion. And, I might add, there are some who are growing in their determination to wipe out not just one, not just a couple, but, rather, they seek to wipe out all the lines between man and these sins. First, let us deal with the sins of incest. Leviticus 18:6-20—“‘6 None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the LORD. 7 The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of your father's wife you shall not uncover; it is your father's nakedness. 9 The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 The nakedness of your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. 11 The nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is near of kin to your father. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is near of kin to your mother. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law—she is your son's wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it is your brother's nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, nor shall you take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. 18 Nor shall you take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive. 19 Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as long as she is in her customary impurity. 20 Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor's wife, to defile yourself with her. ’”

So, here is the rundown of the family relations with whom God prohibited His people from having sexual relations:

·         Father and mother (or stepmother)

·         Sister (or stepsister)

·         Granddaughter

·         Your aunt (neither of them)

·         Your uncle (or his wife, who is your aunt)

·         Your daughter-in-law

·         Your sister-in-law

·         And woman and her daughter (or any of her granddaughters)

·         The sister of a woman that you want to make jealous

Now, as I said, I think anyone with a rational mind would not find too much fault with any of these prohibitions. I think we would all agree that it’s yucky to have sex with mom or dad (although Lot's daughters thought they were doing something right in Genesis 19:30-38). Or your children or your grandchildren. There are some, though, who wouldn’t think twice about their stepmother, or their in-laws. And there are some who would be quite emboldened to approach the last two, and would think of it as quite the conquest. But therein lies the corruption of the human heart. It is set solely on the things which gratify it, regardless of the indecency and immorality of the act. Amnon, a son of David, took his own sister Tamar by force in 2^nd Samuel 13:11-14—11 Now when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, "Come, lie with me, my sister." 12 But she answered him, "No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! 13 And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you." 14 However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her. And for these, God’s wrath was kindled against Israel, and He allowed her to be taken into captivity. And, alas, the princes of Israel would not escape falling into these monstrous deeds. Ezekiel 22:6-11—"6 Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you...10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity. 11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter."

In the New Testament, we see John the Baptist rebuking Herod for laying with his sister-in-law. Mark 6:17-18—17 Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her. 18 Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Later on, Paul would have to rebuke some in the church at Corinth for laying with their stepmothers. 1^st Corinthians 5:1-2—1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father's wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. And we could go on even further detailing the sexual atrocities perpetrated by depraved human hearts. But you get the idea.

Now, as I started to say, when we hear about people involved in many of these relations, we would say something like…“Eeeewww.” We would be rightly mortified by them. We would agree that having sex with your parent or your child is a gross act that should be rightly outlawed. But there is one act that God is about to mention, lumped in with all these others and coming on the heels of His warning to not offer their children to Moloch. And that is, Leviticus 18:22—“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” This is, of course, the forbidding of homosexuality. When we hear someone had sexual relations with their child, we shrink in disgust. When we hear of someone mating with an animal, we cannot bear to hear the details. When we hear about a perverted uncle who sodomized his niece, we are outraged. When we think of going in to a woman during her monthly cycle, most men get squeamish. When a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, we are saddened. When a man sleeps with his brother’s wife, we don’t always begrudge the wronged brother from taking the matter up with the guilty brother. And in this country, when a family adopts a child of either gender, they must provide a separate bedroom for any children of the other gender. And we are rightly outraged by these acts.

But let someone stand up and say, publicly, “Homosexuality is a sin” and they get whisked off to “sensitivity training” or they get large fines, or they have to make some “apology” because they “offended” someone. Yet these people will not apologize to the One who is truly offended by their support of homosexuality. They will blindly spit in God’s eye and say He is “mean” or “intolerant” or some other such nonsense. Or, rather, they will direct their bile at those of us who stand up and say homosexuality is a sin. Even though the only One whose opinion really matters lumps it in with adultery, incest and child sacrifice. They will say something like, “Well, that was just the Old Testament. Where does Jesus say anything about homosexuality?” And this question is wrong for two reasons. First, we don’t know everything Jesus ever said or did. John 21:25—And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. But I doubt that there were many people running up to Him and asking, “Teacher, my son is sleeping with another man. What do You say to this?” Because I think they would know the answer. He would say, in whatever way He chose, to tell them to “go forth and sin no more.” I do not dare speak for my Lord, but knowing that He did not tolerate sin, that would have probably been the gist of His response.

However, that question is wrong for another more obvious reason—Jesus DID speak against homosexuality. What is fornication? Is it not sleeping with someone you are not married to? And, contrary to what the spin doctors of the homosexual movement try to say it, marriage is between one man and one woman. Period. The late Walter Martin, one of the most brilliant biblical minds of the 20^th century, said this about the New Testament use of the Greek word that we translate as ‘fornication’:

 

You say, “Where in the New Testament did Jesus ever mention homosexuality?”

 

Open your Bibles and find out; because contrary to what the gay church says, He not only spoke against it—He went out of His way to make it very clear so nobody would misunderstand Him.

 

Of course, you do have to study your Greek New Testament to come up with it. Most homosexual theologians that I have talked to don’t even know the Greek alphabet, much less their Greek exegesis, so they miss it completely – but it’s here in the passage and it should be looked at. Matthew, chapter 15, Christ is speaking, verse 19, “For out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders”, notice the differentiation, “adulteries, fornications”, plural, “thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile”

 

You say: “The word homosexual is not there; what are you arguing about?”

 

I’m arguing about the use of the word porneus, which was found written over the wall, and the doorway, and the arches, in excavations by archaeologists of Roman brothels. And the word porneus did not mean “sex before marriage” alone.

 

It meant homosexuality, bestiality, and all forms of degraded sex. And it became well known to everybody in the culture, that porneus referred to “anything goes”.

 

Jesus well knew the Roman brothels. He well knew the culture of His time; and when He said “adulteries and fornications” – plural – He was making a direct reference to the practices of the Romans and the Greeks and the pagans of the time who prostituted themselves to all forms of evil.

 

He knew it; He condemned it. It’s not just the matter of the word, it’s a matter of the culture; and Jesus certainly understood the culture of His time. And therefore, when He used the word “fornications”, He obviously was making reference to all forms – all forms, inclusive forms – of that which was the deviation from the norm of Jewish law. (Source: http://apprising.org/2011/03/21/jesus-does-condemn-homosexuality/)

So, yes, Jesus did speak against homosexuality. And so did Paul. I believe many of us could quote the following by heart, having used it enough times in arguing against the sin of homosexuality. But, let us see it again. Romans 1:24-27—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. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And again, another familiar passage, 1^st Corinthians 6:9-10—9 Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Let’s look at a couple words that are germane to our discussion. First, the words translated homosexuals (‘effeminate’ in the KJV), which is the Greek μαλακός (malakos). Now, you will often hear the (ludicrous) argument that “That word simply means male prostitutes.” Not so fast. Let’s look at the full range of meanings for that word. From Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: “1) soft, soft to the touch; 2) metaphorically in a bad sense: a) effeminate, 1) of a catamite; 2) of a boy kept for homosexual relations with a man; 3) of a male who submits his body to unnatural lewdness; 4) of a male prostitute.” In short, a μαλακός (malakos) was one who played the role of the “woman” in a relationship between two men. These would not inherit the kingdom of God. The second word we will discuss is “sodomites” (or, ‘abusers of themselves with mankind’, KJV), the Greek being ἀρσενοκοίτης (arsenokoites). In short, this is the one who plays the “man” in such a relationship. Paul is not using these two words just for dramatic repetition. He is saying that in a relationship between two men, it does not matter which one plays which role. Both of them will be shut out of the kingdom.

The prohibition against homosexuality is not one that is limited to Old Testament Israel. It carries over into the church under the new covenant as well. Furthermore, this prohibition (like many others) did not simply spring up at Sinai. Perverting the natural order comes with the price of death, and that goes all the way back to the book of Genesis. And what subject do you think we’ll pick up here? Ah yes, the origin of the word ‘sodomite.’ Without going back over the story, we know that the men of Sodom wanted Lot to bring out the two angels who entered his house, “So that we may know them” (Genesis 19:5). And, as you well know, the word “know” does not mean, here, “to get acquainted with.” If that’s what they meant, then why did Lot respond as he did, “Do not do so wickedly!” (Genesis 19:7). Let’s think here: if the men of Sodom only wanted to “get acquainted with” these men, why did Lot call that “wickedness”? And we know that, even after Abraham pleaded with God to spare the city if he could find 10 righteous men—which, by the way, he could not find—that the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens (Genesis 19:24).

And in case you haven’t heard it yet, the argument from the pro-homosexual will say something like this: “God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because they were inhospitable to their guests!” They arrive at this conclusion from Ezekiel 16:48-50—"48 As I live," says the Lord GOD, “neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. 49 Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.” And so they say, “See! It was because of their pride they were destroyed—not for any of that stuff you read in Genesis! In fact, ignore all that; it never happened!” However, their argument fall apart in light of the words of Jude, the brother of our Lord. Jude 1:7—Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. The men of Sodom were destroyed because their cravings for male flesh were so overwhelming that even after they were struck blind, they still groped for it (Genesis 19:11). Matthew Henry—

“To put an end to their attempt, and disable them from pursuing it. Justly were those struck blind who had been deaf to reason. Violent persecutors are often infatuated so that they cannot push on their malicious designs against God's messengers. Yet these Sodomites, after they were struck blind, continued seeking the door, to break it down, till they were tired. No judgments will, of themselves, change the corrupt natures and purposes of wicked men. If their minds had not been blinded as well as their bodies, they would have said, as the magicians, ‘This is the finger of God,’ and would have submitted.”

When men’s hearts are hardened, their eyes blinded to the truth, and when men have not the Holy Spirit stirring their conscience to repentance, they will most gladly and stubbornly grope for that which their flesh desires most, not fearing—not anticipating—and not believing that there will ever come a day when they will face the Judge of the living and the dead.

Next week we will look at the people allowing their children passing through the fire to Molech

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.