A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Leviticus 19 (part 4)

Okay, it's been more than a week since I posted, been having some computer issues. But we are back!

For Leviticus 19:20-22 we’re going to use the NASB translation, because it is a little clearer in its rendering of this passage. “’20 Now if a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she was not free. 21 He shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD to the doorway of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 The priest shall also make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the LORD for his sin which he has committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him.’” The woman in question here is one who is owned as a slave but promised as a wife to another slave. Let’s think back to Exodus 21:4-6—“4 If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. 5 But if the servant plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' 6 then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.” This is the man and his promised wife referred to in Leviticus 19:20.

 Now, if the woman was free, she would be put to death, along with the man who laid with her, Deuteronomy 22:22-24—“22 If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel. 23 If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones.” But, since this woman was the property of another, so that her owner might not be deprived of her service, she was to be investigated, punished, along with the man who laid with her—but neither were to be put to death.

 Leviticus 19:23-25—“‘23 When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the LORD. 25 And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the LORD your God.’” We have seen that the people were instructed, by God, to treat each other (as well as the stranger among them) respectfully, every man being created in the similitude of God (James 3:9). But the command to treat with respect extended not only to human beings, but also to the land that God had given them. We will see, in just a few chapters, that God commanded the people to rest not their own bodies, and their servants on the seventh day of the week, but to also allow the land itself to rest from its labor of providing sustenance for them and their animals. Leviticus 25:1-4—1 And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the LORD. 3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.’” The command here in Leviticus, to give their trees a few years to produce fruit, and to not just go in and grab the first thing that blooms, is also in line with the command to give their crops every seventh year off. Just as people need rest from their labor from time to time, so the land needs rest from its labor. Which is why, I believe, so much food we have today is less healthy for us than it has been in times past—because we just keep farming it and using it and using it and using it up, so that it doesn't have time to replenish itself, and we are growing stuff in, basically, dirt and not good soil.

 And wouldn’t you know it, even in this command, we see an instruction for the church under the new covenant. What is the command here? Let the trees grow, and bear fruit, and account the first pickings of the fruit to God, and then use what comes in the following years for yourself. In other words, don’t go picking your fruit until it matures, and it is first offered to God. What does Jesus call our labors in the Lord? Fruit. Matthew 7:15-20—“15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” And how can one know whether the tree they are eating from is bad or good unless the fruit has come to its full growth? For a man can say “I believe in God; I believe in Christ and His finished work; I believe in salvation by faith.” And yet this is but a small blossom, and not the whole fruit. For if you were to examine the fruit, once it has been exposed and allowed to fully bloom, one sees that the blossom that appeared good has grown into a fruit that is most vile and poisonous, for we may eventually see that the same man believes in a God who was once a man; and believes in a Christ who was Lucifer’s brother (and not his Creator), and salvation that comes by faith and the vile works of his own effort and which, when brought to fruition, entails him becoming a “God” of his own universe and birthing “spirit children” with his many celestial wives. And yet there are many who hear the smooth-sounding words of the one who calls himself a “latter-day saint” without investigating the fullness of their fruit, and eat that bitter produce, and go down to perdition.

 Even in the church, we are called to examine one’s life to determine whether they are a true brother or sister in Christ. Especially the one that seeks to be an overseer of a congregation. 1^st Timothy 3:2-6—2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach…6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Paul goes on to warn young Timothy yet again, 1^st Timothy 5:22—Do not lay hands on anyone hastily. That is, when a man comes and says he “feels led” to enter the ministry, do not simply take him at face value and, not knowing his heart or motives or teachings, put him into a position of teaching others the strange fruit of the doctrines of demons. How many times do we see it, especially today, that a man (or woman—but that is for another day) comes along, fresh in his newly converted state, thinking that his genuineness and sincerity (and very little background in the Scripture) is enough to carry him into the teaching and preaching of the most important collection of writings ever assembled. And how often are these fresh-faced folks swept up into a seminary (if they even ever receive any instruction in the Scriptures), spewed out into a pulpit, and allowed to lead people into doctrines which are never taught in the Scripture, if they ever teach doctrine at all. Those who appoint such people have not allowed the person’s tree to bear fruit for a time, have not offered them first to God—but have simply offered them to the people first, to tickle ears and fill pews. But all these commands in Leviticus are so irrelevant today, right?

 Leviticus 19:26-28—“‘26 You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.’” We have already covered verse 26—the statute concerning the eating of blood being covered under Leviticus 17:1-16; the warning about soothsayers being covered under Exodus 22:18 and the command to put sorcerers to death. So let’s just talk briefly about verses 27-28. Again, these seem rather trivial today—especially with how popular tattoos and piercings have become. Now, does this mean that if someone has a pierced ear or a tattoo that they are in danger of judgment? No. But there is yet another object lesson here.

 As I have said before, so I will say again: we live in a day and age when “pastors” think they have to be raw and edgy in order to appeal to a certain demographic. And it is not uncommon to see these “pastors” adorn their bodies with tattoos and piercings in an attempt to be oh-so-hip, oh-so-cool, oh-so-relevant to the oh-so-hip, oh-so-cool, oh-so-relevant crowd. Their thinking is this (whether or not they understand their thinking to be so): “The word of God is not enough; the promise of eternal life with Christ is not enough; I must make MYSELF appealing to the people, so that they MIGHT listen to what I have to say, and keep coming back to listen to…” Whom? “…ME…” It’s all about the one standing up there speaking, showing forth their fruit—and their fruit declares their heart to think that the preaching of the gospel is not about glorifying God, but “getting people in the door.” The “relevance” crowd has given this horrendous style of “preaching” a title: “Contextualization.” (And has now given us the abominable "deconstruction") And their battle cry sounds something like this: “We make the Bible relevant!” That is about as a blasphemous a statement as a man can make. The Bible is relevant simply because it is the living word of the living God. The guy standing there on the stage thinks he has to dumb-down the gospel so that enough people can nod their head, or “quietly slip your hand in the air, with no one looking” or repeat some mundane “sinner’s prayer” that will mean nothing five years down the road for most who repeat it. But hey, some hip/cool/relevant “preacher” standing up there with tattoos and an eyebrow ring told them they're saved, so they must be saved…right?

 Here’s the thing: tattoos and piercings are not going to condemn anyone. But they're not going to make anyone accept the fullness of the gospel any more than a man standing on stage in a $2000 suit. It’s not the clothing that makes one believe the truth of the gospel. It is the Holy Spirit breathing the truth into the spirit, opening the eyes and ears, turning the person from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to the power of God (Acts 26:18). “But we’ve got to get them in the door!” Oh yeah, I guess you're right. I guess it all depends on the rock star standing on stage, and I suppose that God is not powerful enough to do it.

 Two points God is making by issuing these commands—for Israel, as well as for us: one, the people of God are to look different than the people of Satan. Not just on the outside, in what we wear. But on the inside, letting that which is within flow to without. Romans 6:4—Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Are you in Christ? Was your old man buried with Him? Then prove it in the way you walk. The second principle is this: do you think you own your body? Do you say, “My body is my own; I can do with it as I please”? No, friend, it is not. Your body, if you belong to God, does not belong to you—it belongs to Him. 1^st Corinthians 9:19-20—19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. If you are a Christian; if you say that Christ has saved you; if you claim to love God and love Christ—then your body does not belong to you. Your body is not your own, it does not belong to you—your body and your spirit belong to God. He bought them; He paid for them with His own blood; He owns you. If you don’t like that idea; if that statement is abhorrent to you; if you can say, in full confidence, “Jesus is not my lord”—then you may want to reconsider your relationship with God, because He says otherwise. He would not let His people, under the old covenant, so much as put a mark on their skin.

 Leviticus 19:30-37—“‘30 You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD. 31 Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. 32 You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD. 33 And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 35 You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. 36 You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the LORD.’”

 So now we finish up this chapter with just a couple instructions that need to be covered. Verse 32, “You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD.” Most cultures around the world value the elderly. The fact that they have been granted long years upon the earth is enough to make them worthy of at least some modicum of respect. And yet, when it comes time to elect the person who should run our country, what is the cry today? “We don’t want him; he’s…” what? “…he’s too old. We want someone younger!” We want someone who is more vibrant, who is more exciting and fresh-faced—someone that has more vigor and vitality. We don’t want some old fuddy-duddy that looks like our grandpa in his rocking chair. And why is that? Why do we in this country have such a disdain for our elders? Unless they are the elders in our own family, then you better not talk about old Uncle Joe—and even then, if old Uncle Joe gets to be too much of a nuisance, we’ll just ship him to the old folks’ home. The reason we can't stand the elderly anymore is because they remind us of our own mortality. That we will, one day, be like them. We will have to walk with a cane; we will have to have someone drive us here and there; we will have to rely on the charity of others. And, even worse, we will be treated the way we are treating them. And we can't stand that. (I say all this, with the caveat that God may indeed take us out of this world before we become grey-headed)

 We don’t respect our elders—and when we become elderly, we will not be respected. It is a curse upon this nation. John Gill—

“Fagius relates, that according to the tradition of the Hebrews, a young man was obliged to rise up when an ancient man was at the distance of four cubits from him, and to sit down again as soon as he had passed by him, that it might appear it was done in honour of him. And this was not only observed among the Jews, but anciently among Heathens, who reckoned it abominable wickedness, and a capital crime, if a young man did not rise up to an old man, and a boy to a bearded person. Herodotus reports, that the Egyptians agreed in this with the Lacedaemonians, and with them only of the Grecians, that the younger, when they met the elder, gave them the way and turned aside, and when coming towards them rose up out of their seat; and this law was enjoined them by Lycurgus, and which Aelianus commends as of all the most humane. And this respect to ancient persons is due to them from younger persons, because of their having been in the world before them, and of their long continuance in it, and because of the favour and honour God has bestowed upon them in granting them long life, as also because of the experience, knowledge, and wisdom, they may be supposed to have attained unto.”

Solomon knew the value of the elderly—especially the ones who had attained knowledge and wisdom. Proverbs 16:31—The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness. Proverbs 20:29—The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head. But, anymore, today, what do we see in movies and on TV? The parents are made to look like buffoons, and the smart-aleck children are promoted as being wiser than their parents. And for that, this country is sliding into an abyss from which only the power and grace of God may one day rescue it—if He does at all. But, if He does not, and this country goes into the miry quagmire, we will have no one to blame but ourselves—even while those who despise God shake their fist and ask “Why did He let this happen?” Oh, hypocritical creatures that we are!

 Finally, verses 34-36—“34 The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 35 You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. 36 You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The message in all of these verses is simple: treat others as you would want to be treated. “You were slaves and strangers, you know what it is like to be under the whip of the taskmaster. Don’t forget what that felt like. When someone comes into your land, treat them with respect, don’t defraud them, don’t mistreat them—or I will cause you to go into a land where you will be mistreated even worse than you were in Egypt. Do everything honestly, that you may not blaspheme My Name.” As Solomon would say many centuries later, in Proverbs 11:1 (and echoed in Proverbs 20:10)—Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight.

 These commands and the principles behind them are explained in Micah 6:1-8—1 Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, O you mountains, the LORD's complaint, and you strong foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a complaint against His people, and He will contend with Israel. 3 O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me. 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab counseled, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, from Acacia Grove to Gilgal, that you may know the righteousness of the LORD.” 6 With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

 I am no better than anyone else. My righteousness does not come from within myself. If it were not for the grace of God, I would be no different than the man I once was—depraved, rotten to the soul, corrupt, swimming in the filth of my flesh, indulging every craving of my flesh in its wantonness. Hateful, prideful, spiteful, my life full of bitterness and cursing, drunkenness, revelry and shame. And should I ever depart from the grace which God has given me (as if that were possible!) I would no doubt return to the muck and mire which was once my home. How could I ever look down on another who does not know the Lord, who has never been given the light of His grace in order to turn from their wickedness? And yet, from time to time, I do just that. To my own shame, I commit that very sin of thinking less of that person simply because they have not received the light which God gives to some and not to others. And why have I received it? Because I was somehow better than them? Seriously? If anything, I deserve more stripes and a more severe judgment than some whom I judge so harshly. May God be merciful to me, a sinner, for judging others in my heart, for not loving the stranger that is my neighbor as I love myself—for don’t we all love ourselves? Ephesians 5:29—No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. So let us always see those who know not God the same way God once looked upon us—with pity, with mercy, with grace. Let us always deal with them honestly, giving glory to God, praying that perhaps He will shine His truth upon them as He has upon us.

 Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Leviticus 19 (Part 3)

 Now, for the last phrase in Leviticus 19:18—“But you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.” The second of the great commandments, and the one that Jesus said was just as important as the first. Let’s talk about this meeting between Christ and the Pharisee for a moment. Before we do, though, let’s frame it in its historical context. At the time, as you may well know, the Pharisees placed a huge premium on keeping the outward commandments of the Law. In His listing of woes to the Scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:13-36), He blasts them for doing, doing, doing the outward rituals in order to become righteous. He even prefaces His monologue by teaching His followers to not be like those scribes and Pharisees. Matthew 23:1-12—1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.' 8 But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” The reason Jesus was about to castigate the religious crowd of the day was they had forgotten the reason God gave them the Law. It was not as a way to become better than others; it was not meant as a way for them to measure themselves against others as a sort of contest to see who could be “more righteous” (a game still played, by the way, only now they call themselves ‘Roman Catholics’). The Law was actually meant as a way to humble the people, and to show us how utterly detestable we are.

But at this time, the Pharisees had elevated certain parts of the Law, and downgraded others. And among the rabbis, there were many debates about how to arrange the commands in the Law according to their importance. And apparently this fellow wanted to hear Jesus weigh in on the subject. So he asks Christ, in Mark 12:19—Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" Look at what Mark says about the man. Then one of the scribes came, and…perceiving that He had answered them well. He was not trying to trap Christ in His words; he was not tempting or testing the Lord. He was seeking to hear more. He realized that Jesus was speaking words of truth. And so Christ answers, and I'm sure many of us can tell this off the top of our heads, Mark 12:30-31—29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Notice how He phrased His answer: He says the first command is to love God, and then He says the second is like it. This makes the one intertwined with the other, so that if you do not love God, you cannot love your neighbor. And, if you do not love your neighbor, you do not love God (see James 3:9).

This man went on, and paraphrased the words of the prophet Hosea, who wrote these words from God, in Hosea 6:6—“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” And in paraphrasing this passage, he told our Lord, Mark 12:32-34—32  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." So out of all these commands we’ve studied since Exodus 20:1 up until now, having lost count of how many and how diverse they have been—out of all these commands, including the Ten Commandments, this command here, to love your neighbor as yourself, is placed above all the commands against murder, theft, idolatry, homosexuality, bestiality, and eating shrimp. Paul would echo Jesus’ words, in 1st Corinthians 13:1-13. We all know, of course, that 1st Corinthians 13 is “The Love Chapter” and Paul says that even if he could do just about anything—speak with the tongues of angels, prophecy, have the gifts of knowledge and wisdom and understand all the mysteries of God and give everything he had to the poor and even give his body to be burned—if it were possible for him to do all those things but lack one, he would be as lost as the worst infidel. And what was that one thing he could not lack? Love. He would be a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal; in fact, he said if he had not love he would be nothing. If it were possible for him to keep the other 612 commandments in the Law, if he did not love his neighbor as himself, he would be consigned to the fires of Hell. Loving one’s neighbor was just as essential to one’s salvation as loving God with all heart, soul and strength. All other commands paled in comparison to these two.

Leviticus 19:19—“‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.’” Remember the commands against eating certain animals? What was the lesson God was teaching them at that point? Was it a lesson in lowering their cholesterol? Was it a lesson in some sort of health concern? If they ate a clam were they going to be struck down dead? No. The purpose behind the prohibitions was to teach them a lesson about separating things. Keeping themselves separate from sin; differentiating between clean and unclean, between holy and profane (Exodus 11:45-47). Same here. God made nature in a certain order. He made cows; He made horses; He made dogs (poodles, however, are an aberration of nature and therefore unexplainable by humans); He made snakes. He made all these things to multiply after their own kind (see Genesis chapter 1). He also made man. And out of all the tribes of man, He took the Israelites, separated them from any other people on earth—doing so, in fact, hundreds of years before they got to Mt. Sinai (see Genesis 12:1-3). But God also knows the mind and the heart of man. He knows that even though He had separated these people out from the other peoples, the men would have a proclivity to go after the women from the pagan nations. And did they ever. David. Solomon. And long before them, the people of Israel went whoring after the women of Moab— even after God had spared them from being cursed by Balaam, who was trying to lure them into being seduced by the women of Moab (see Numbers 22-25)! So here, God gives them another object lesson about not mixing the people of God with the unholy pagans.

Let’s take a quick look at each one of these. First, God forbids them from unnaturally mating with beasts of the field. Think of a cow. What kind of animals do cows, by their own natural inkling, mate with? “Ummm…cows.” Good answer. Do you think a cow would ever try to mate with a horse? Or a donkey? No. But, in much the same way that Egyptian mythology was filled with creatures half-human/half-animal, many other mythologies have been filled with fantastical creatures which were some combination of animals. This was a way of discouraging such heathenish practices among the people of God.

Second, He warns them not to mix the grain of the field. Many of the pagans surrounding them worshipped some sort of fertility god, who they believed would give them abundant crops and thus these people would take up a sort of agricultural alchemy, combining all different kinds of seeds, hoping that their ‘god’ would give them some new kind of crop that would produce far greater numbers than before. But we have a couple New Testament passages that deal with seed and with grafting one tree into another—and how it is God who produces the desired results. First, we have Jesus’ parable of the soils. He tells of a sower that goes out and sows seed (which is the Word of God). Some of it lands by the wayside and is snatched away by Satan. Some of it lands on rocky ground, where it has no depth and when the heat of persecution comes it withers and dies. Some of the seed falls among thorns, and when they are persecuted for the word, their life is choked out. But the seed that lands on good soil—that is the seed that grows thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold (Matthew 13:8). Was there anything different about the seed? No. Same seed. If you want to think of the good soil as the “control group” (to use a research term), then that seed falling on good soil tells us that it is not the seed that causes the problem—rather, the soil must be prepared for the seed. And if the soil is bad, then the seed, no matter how good and pure and perfect, cannot grow because the soil is not usable. So who is it that makes the soil ready? Who is it that is the real source of life, the One who causes the seed to grow? It is none other than the Great Husbandman. 1st Corinthians 3:5-6—5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

And when we combine the parable of Christ with the warning from Leviticus, we actually see a warning to the church—that a sower of the seed (the Word of God) is not to mix the good seed (the Word of God) with any other kind of seed. Satan does enough of that, and we can see the results today (see the parable of the wheat and the tares, Matthew 13:24-30). A passage that talks about grafting two trees is found in Romans 11:17-24—17 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, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? Paul compares the church to the wild olive tree, and old covenant Israel to the natural olive tree. The point Paul makes is that God, being the great Husbandman, knows how to graft the two olive trees together to get one tree that will bear fruit for all eternity. And even though, in nature, these two trees would reject each other, it is God who causes all things to work together, and create from two trees one tree to His glory (see Ephesians 2:11-14).

Third, God tells the people not to wear clothing made from mixing wool and linen. You can wear wool. You can wear linen. But do not mix the two. To many, this may be the most perplexing of the prohibitions in Leviticus 19:19. “What’s the big deal about mixing fabrics? I mean, don’t we all wear some kind of cotton/polyester blend clothing all the time?” That may be true—if we didn’t go beneath the surface and find what God is actually trying to tell us here. What this is, beyond the pale of human understanding, is a warning to all Christians—do not mix Law and Grace. “OK, what in the world are you talking about? How do you get ‘don’t mix law and grace’ from ‘don’t mix wool and linen’?” Well, what is the source from which wool comes? Well, wool comes from sheep. Is not Jesus our Good Shepherd? Is not Jesus our Savior? And how are we saved? By grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). So then, wool is symbolic of the fact that we are His sheep, saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Now, the linen—this was the material which made up the priestly garments. Do we now take an animal to a priest to be killed, cut up and burned in order to atone for our sins? No. Christ has done that already. That was the Law—you sin, you kill an animal. Yet there are many, still today, who mix law and grace, who say “We are saved by faith in Christ—but you still gotta keep the rules to keep yourself saved.” If you remember the late Garner Ted Armstrong, or his father Herbert W. Armstrong, they were in the line of the Worldwide Church of God (otherwise known as the Philadelphia Church of God, and its offspring which go by many names. It now bills itself as Grace Communion International. Hmm, Grace Communion…how ironic). They teach that Christians are commanded to keep the old covenant feasts, and that if you don’t you're not saved. That, my friends, is the very definition of mixing wool with linen—wanting to mix the wool of Christ’s grace with the linen of the Law. And by doing so, one will not be saved. Galatians 5:1-4—1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. Emphasis on verse 2, if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. Nothing. If that little clause is not enough to make people go running and screaming away from any group that tries to foist the bondage of the Law upon them, and go running toward the cross and hang their arms about the neck of our dear Savoir—I don’t know what will. Nothing. You can believe in Him all you want—but if you still cling to the Law, then Christ will slip from your grasp, and you will be left holding the wind. Period. They have clothed themselves in garments of wool mingled with linen. And those garments will shield them from neither the stain of sin nor the wrath of God.

Part 4 next week

 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Leviticus 19 (part 2)

 Leviticus 19:15—“‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.’” We in this day and age have this notion, drilled into our heads by ivory tower academia types, that every poor person is pure and noble, and that every wealthy person is evil and scheming. There is also the dynamic within the halls of (what we call) justice that allows some wealthy folks to escape doing time in prison, no matter what criminal act they may be convicted of (if they are convicted at all). But when it comes to matters of justice concerning rich and poor, God doesn't care—He doesn't care whether you are rich; He doesn't care if you are poor. If a poor man kills a rich man, he is judged just the same way as if he had killed a poor man. Likewise, the wealthy are punished equitably if they kill a rich man or a poor man. Furthermore, if a wealthy man is wrongly accused of a crime, they are not to be convicted solely on the basis of “He’s rich, and he’s accused of wronging a poor man: he must be guilty.” And if a poor man is rightly accused of wrongdoing, there is no automatic acquittal based on “He’s poor: he could not possibly have done it.”

 Consider the young men who played lacrosse for Duke University in 2006. Now, mind you, they may not have been role models, and I am not necessarily defending their character and their actions off the field—but how quick was the press to jump on the accusations made by a poor black woman against these rich white boys. All the typical media offenders were so quick to jump up and say “These privileged white boys attacked this poor black woman”—without there being one shred of evidence to convict them. In fact, it was later found out that DA Mike Nifong actually tried to invent evidence to use against the accused. That is one type of abuse of power that this command sought to prohibit. Listen to what Moses told the people, reminding them of the days when the justice system among the people was first established, Deuteronomy 1:16-17—“16 Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the stranger who is with him. 17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man's presence, for the judgment is God's.’” God does not judge based on appearances; he will not tolerate His people doing so either.

 Leviticus 19:16—“You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.” Don’t gossip. Don’t go around telling tales about your neighbor that you ain't oughta be tellin’ (that’s a little East Tennessee lingo there). Remember that little jingle that we were taught when we were kids? “Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That is a lie. Words can often do more damage to a person that any kind of physical hurt. You can heal from a broken arm. You can get along with an amputation. But when people destroy your reputation—that is something that is much more difficult to overcome. And for some, they never have overcome it. Once the damage was done, that was it. It could not be undone. How many times has someone been falsely accused of being a child molester, or of raping a woman? How many times, even after the facts come to light, and the person’s name is cleared, is it cleared only in the eyes of the justice system—it is not always done so in the eyes of the community.

 King Solomon had quite a bit to say about gossip, and the kinds of harm it can do. Proverbs 11:13—A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter. Proverbs 24:29—Do not say, "I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work." Just because something may be true it doesn't always need to be repeated. But sometimes, we just can't help it, can we? We know something, and we just have to tell someone. So we spiritualize it. “Oh, I just love brother Billy Bob, bless his heart. He’s such a good man. But I pray for him, seeing how he’s having to deal with his wife cheating on him and all. Oh, you didn’t know that? Well, don’t tell anyone.” “You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people.” And just as there are many who do not delay in telling a matter, aren’t we also eager to lap up every little morsel we can get? We hear a whisper about a matter, and we’re not satisfied, are we? We need to hear all the juicy details. But, Solomon spoke of us in that regard as well, Proverbs 18:8—The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body. Which is why there are so many of these stupid reality shows on TV, showing us the lives of people that we otherwise wouldn’t care about one whit. I mean really, do we really need to know what goes on in the everyday life of a Kardashian? I sure don’t! Do we really need to listen to a bunch of “Real Housewives™” cuss and swear at each other over……just what, exactly? But, because we are a generation that loves gossip and strife, we indulge ourselves in both.

 Leviticus 19:17-18—“‘17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people.’” Two very important concepts here. Two actions we take in response to our feelings and our emotions. One of these actions is performed internally; the other is performed outwardly. And both of these responses are not meant to be taken by any but God. And yet, what do we know about man? In his inmost person, does he not desire to be God? Does not man think that he can do a much better job of considering matters and doling out justice than God does? Spurgeon was wise to say, “Men will allow God to be anywhere except on His throne.” Of course, man thinks that said throne belongs to man, and not to God. But, suffice it to say, that God uses and responds to His own emotions in an infinitely more precise and just fashion than man responds to man’s emotions. Because God’s response to His emotions is predicated upon His justice, His righteousness, His omniscience over every facet of creation, and how His decisions will work toward His own perfect ends. Man, however, responds based upon his own puny, limited, negligible view of his own tiny, trivial, inadequate view of…well, anything.

So when we are wronged, and we seek to repay those who have done us wrong, we are responding based on how said offense affected us in the here and now. And so, when we are wronged, we will respond in two ways. We will respond internally, within our own spirit, and will hate the person who wronged us. We will also respond outwardly, with our body, meting out whatever retribution we think the perpetrator deserved. Now, is this to say that we should turn a blind eye and not seek justice when someone commits a criminal act against us or our family? Absolutely not! For then, justice would not be done, and God would remain offended. He gave us a sense of justice, and we should use it judiciously. But we should strive to see justice done, not to exact our own revenge. For that is the reason God has ordained governments: to restrain the evil intents and actions of men. Romans 13:1-5 (NASB)—1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. Now, let us see what the Scriptures say about hatred, and revenge.

 The clearest words on hatred come from, of course, our Lord. Matthew 5:21-22—“21 You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.” Jesus never uses the word “hate” or “hatred” in this warning. But He is indeed talking about hatred, progressing from being angry to calling names to labeling one an infidel. Way back when, as we talked about at length during our study of the Ten Commandments, murder does not begin with a person ending the physical life of another. Murder begins long before that. When a person plots in his heart to do away with someone, scheming and devising ways to end that life, then they have already committed murder. Have you ever heard someone who claims to be a Christian, but the words they use to talk about others betrays the real thoughts of their heart, and reveal them to be a murderer within. When people entertain racist thoughts, know that racism is hatred, and hatred is murder, and as it was written by the apostle that Jesus loved, 1^st John 3:13-15—13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. This is not simply a new covenant or New Testament concept. This goes all the way back to Sinai, and was in fact echoed in the words of Solomon, again in Proverbs 26:24-26—24 He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself; 25 when he speaks kindly, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart; 26 though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly. And here in the Law, God warns the people to not allow their emotions to lead them into hatred toward their neighbor.

 Revenge. This is the outward manifestation of the inward response to being wronged. Somebody did something to us; now we need to make them pay. So many movies today—and many novels, plays, songs, etc., over the centuries—have had as their basis this thing called revenge. I won’t even go into any of them; I'm sure you can think of several without even trying. But revenge serves no purpose. Not when we carry it out, that is. Because when we carry out vengeance, we do it for one reason—to try and restore our selfish human pride, which was injured by another. And now, being wronged, we see ourselves as being smaller in the eyes of others. So, in an attempt to restore our stature, we try to overcompensate the wrong done to us by doing an even greater wrong to the other person. We try to impose our own justice on the situation. We are, in short, putting ourselves in the place of God. Solomon—do we not find ourselves running, time and again, to this recipient of God’s wisdom—had something to say of retribution and the costs involved. Like the old saying goes, "You don't hold a grudge. A grudge holds you". A part of the song by Matthew West, called "Forgiveness" sums it up nicely:

 

It'll clear the bitterness away
It can even set a prisoner free
There is no end to what its power can do
So let it go and be amazed by what you see through eyes of grace
The prisoner that it really frees is you

 

Forgiveness, forgiveness
Forgiveness, forgiveness
Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness

That is what we should be doing. Forgiving. That is what Jesus taught us to do. Another saying says "It's hard to be angry with someone you are praying for". CS Lewis once wrote "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you."

But, alas, as in the realm of entertainment, so in the Scriptures do we see so many scenes of human retribution that time would not allow us to chronicle the half of them. Let’s take one example, that of two of the sons of Jacob, who avenged their sister’s purity. In Genesis 34, the chapter starts out with the account of Dinah, daughter of Jacob by Leah, being defiled by Shechem the Hivite. Simeon and Levi hear of this atrocity, and devise their vengeance. And, Genesis 34:24-29—24 And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 25 Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. 26 And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem's house, and went out. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. 28 They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, 29 and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses. So they have exacted their revenge, and no doubt they're thinking that their father will be glad they have avenged their sister’s honor. BUT—by this time, Jacob had grown in righteousness, and was no longer the heel-catcher his name made him out to be, having wrestled with God three chapters previous. And when he heard of his sons’ actions, Genesis 34:30—Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I." But, as with many behaviors we inherit from our parents, Jacob’s craftiness was manifested in these sons, making Jacob’s shame even greater, seeing in these young men the shadow of his former self. Keil and Delitzsch—

 

“Their indignation was justifiable enough; and their seeking revenge, as Absalom avenged the violation of his sister on Amnon (2^nd Samuel 13:22), was in accordance with the habits of nomadic tribes… Jacob's sons looked upon the matter not merely as a violation of their sister's chastity, but as a crime against the peculiar vocation of their tribe. But for all that, the deception they practised, the abuse of the covenant sign of circumcision as a means of gratifying their revenge, and the extension of that revenge to the whole town, together with the plundering of the slain, were crimes deserving of the strongest reprobation. The crafty character of Jacob degenerated into malicious cunning in Simeon and Levi; and jealousy for the exalted vocation of their family, into actual sin.”

 When it comes to vengeance, it is best left up to God. For how do you know what will come about from such an act of rashness? Is not God the Judge of all things? And if it is indeed God who judges all the great things, is it too much for Him to judge in the smaller matters? But when we seek to avenge ourselves, we take the decision out of His hands, and take the mantle of Judge upon ourselves. Rather, the Lord of Peace taught us better than that. Matthew 5:38-39—“38 You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” That does not mean we are prohibited from defending ourselves if our person (or the person of a loved one or any other person) is attacked. The “slap” Christ refers to is one of insult—when a man would give the back of the hand to the cheek of another. And he says if someone wants to insult you, just let it go. Do not take your own vengeance.

 In fact, this very same principle is brought up afresh by the apostle Paul, who tells us in Romans 12:17-20—17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." In a recent lesson, we saw Augustine tell us that we do not literally dump a pile of burning Kingsford™ coals on the person’s head, but rather, the “burning coals” are conviction and repentance. When one does evil to you, everyone expects you to exact your pound of flesh. And they sit back, and they watch, and they wait. And they see that you don’t do anything untoward in return. And they think, “OK, sooner or later…” And still nothing. In fact, every time you talk about them, you are actually being nice about them. You are leaving that person in the hands of God. And He will do with them as he pleases. Albert Barnes— 

“So the apostle says that the ‘effect’ of doing good to an enemy would be to produce pain. But the pain will result from shame, remorse of conscience, a conviction of the evil of his conduct, and an apprehension of divine displeasure that may lead to repentance. To do this, is not only perfectly right, but it is desirable. If a man can be brought to reflection and true repentance, it should be done.”

Part 3 next week

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.