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 (1st 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.
