How to Choose between
Timeless Laws and Obsolete Laws
Series Title: Life Lessons from
Leviticus? (For
More In This Series )
A Sermon By Jim Hammond from Leviticus 19
Many of you will recall that a legal expert asked
Jesus what were the greatest commandments? Jesus had an answer for that
man’s question. That question is still a very important question today.
Some commands are more important than others. In fact, we have learned in
this series out of Leviticus that some commands have lost their relevance
altogether as they have become obsolete because of a radical change of
circumstances since the command was put into place. Can someone name me a
commandment found in Leviticus that is now obsolete?
I want to read you two verses found side be side in
the chapter of Leviticus that we will be looking at this morning. Before
I read these two verses however, I am going to ask you to put yourself in
the shoes of that legal expert trying to categorize and rank the commands
from most important to least important. I’m going to ask you to rank them
in importance. If it were a matter of ranking only two verses one in
front of the other that would be easy. Tell me, of the two verses found
in Leviticus 19:18-19. Which verse is more important?
Leviticus 19:18 " 'Do not seek
revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your
neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:19 " 'Keep my
decrees. " 'Do not mate different kinds of animals. " 'Do not plant your
field with two kinds of seed. " 'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds
of material.
That was too easy. The more important command is
found in verse 18, if you aren’t sure why, I’ll tell you in a moment.
Before I do, let’s make this more challenging. Here’s how we are going to
do it. Just like judges in a diving contest, or gymnastics, or ice
skating contest, you are going to judge on a scale of 0 to 10 the relative
importance of these two commandments which are really groupings of two
commandments. Now, there are approximately 613 commandments in the Old
Testament. Now I’m only asking you to rank these two groupings this
morning. 10 means these commands are very important. In your mind
imagine assigning a rank to all of these and a little less than 10 percent
of the 613 are allowed the ranking of 10. Got it? There will actually be
a category of commandments that are no longer of any binding force on our
lives. These you would assign a zero, because they no longer have any
binding force or relevancy for our lives. This is just to get you
thinking. And I’m only going to have you do this for now with the two
verses we just read. Judges, are you ready?
Leviticus 19:18 " 'Do not seek
revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your
neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Please rank this verse on a scale of 0 to 10. Now
that one should have been fairly easy for those of you who remember that
Jesus already gave us his answer on this one.
Matthew 22:35-40 One of
them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
38This is the first and greatest
commandment.
39And the second is like it: 'Love your
neighbor as yourself.'
40All the Law and the Prophets hang on
these two commandments."
That second greatest command Jesus referred to is
found in this verse in this list of commands found in Leviticus 19.
Leviticus 19 didn’t rank them. But Jesus did. According to Jesus, that
commandment was the second most important commandment of the entire Old
Testament. Now here’s the next verse.
Leviticus 19:19 " 'Keep my
decrees. " 'Do not mate different kinds of animals. " 'Do not plant your
field with two kinds of seed. " 'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds
of material.
How many of you already thought that wearing a
polyester blend ought to be illegal?!
How many of you don’t care to know how to choose
between the most important and the least important commands, or how to
decide which Laws are Up to Date and which are Out of Date? How
many of you do want to know how to you decide which Old Testament laws are
Profound and Timeless and which Old Testament Laws are obscure and
obsolete?
Focus: We have
discovered in our study of Leviticus that some of its laws seem very
practical, and others have been made obsolete because of what Jesus did
for us. How does one decide which laws are laws we should heed and which
ones are laws we should ignore?
I found it easy to find great quotes about the lofty,
wonderful statement in Leviticus 19:18. I will share some of those with
you in a moment. But let me tell you, it was difficult finding helpful
information about the more obscure verse, or whether we should attempt to
heed it today. Now, some thoughts related to the second greatest
commandment.
Love Our Neighbors (Quotes)
-
G. K. Chesterton said, “The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and
also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same
people.”[1]
-
One church member commented while leaving the sanctuary after a
message like this one and said, "I'd like to see you love MY neighbor.
[2]
-
Our friends are the people whom we choose; usually friends are the
same sort of people as ourselves. My neighbor is the man whom I do not
choose; he is the man whom God gives to me. He is the man who happens to
live in the house next to mine; he is the man who happens to sit
opposite to me in the train; he is the clerk who works at the desk next
to mine. I have no right to say that he is no concern of mine, because,
if I am a Christian, I know that he is the man whom God has given to me.[3]
-
My relationship with God is part of my relationship with men.
Failure in one will cause failure with the other.
[4]
-
I teach Kids' Club at my church. Arriving home after one rough
evening, my husband asked me how things had gone.
"Our lesson was on loving your neighbor, and two girls kept bothering
each other."
"Which ones were the problem?" he asked.
"Faith and Charity!"
[5]
Before we read the chapter I have one more test for
you, I’ll call it the Torah Test. The Torah is another name for “the Law”
of Moses, also called the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Bible:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. This time instead
of a scale from 0 to 10, I’m giving you a multiple choice grid of 4
choices for categorization. This should make it easier for you to
categorize these laws.
The Torah Test
Please Categorize the sampling of laws listed below
into one of the 4 listed categories according to the way you believe they
best fit.
1.
Timeless and Profound
2.
Timeless but Obscure
3.
Profound but Obsolete
- When you sin, bring an
animal to sacrifice at the tabernacle (or temple) as an atonement
(Leviticus 1-4)
- Don’t offer sacrifices
to idols (Leviticus 17:3; 19:4)
- Consecrate priests
according to the specific rules given (Leviticus 8)
- Don’t eat pork, ham,
horse, owls, crab, shrimp or snake (among other things) (Leviticus 11)
- Don’t eat any meat
with blood still in it (Leviticus 17)
- Do not commit adultery
(Leviticus 18:20)
- A man must not have
sexual relations with a man (Leviticus 18:22)
- Observe the Sabbath
Day and Keep it Holy (Leviticus 19:3)
- Pay workers at the end
of every day (Leviticus 19:13)
- Do not go about
spreading slander about people (Leviticus 19:16)
- Love your neighbor as
yourself (Leviticus 19:18)
- Rise in the presence
of the elderly (Leviticus 19:32)
- Use honest scales and
honest weights (Leviticus 19:35)
- Eat no fruit from a
tree that is less than four years old (Leviticus 19:23)
- Put a medium or
spiritist to death (Leviticus 20:27)
- You may not sell food
to the poor at a profit (Leviticus 25:37)
The reason for giving you this test is to attempt to
discover…
I. What Determining Factor Do You Use?
What was the determining factor you used to rank the
laws in the categories you selected for them? Perhaps some of these
factors entered your thinking…
- It sounds reasonable
so I guess I’ll call it timeless and profound.
- It sounds unreasonable
so it must be obsolete
- I don’t understand it,
so it must be obscure!
- It sounds ceremonial
or ritualistic so it must be obsolete?
- I remember a New
Testament passage that says the same so it must be timeless.
- I follow only the
commands the Holy Spirit personally leads me to obey?
- OTHER
What was the principle you used to decide if the law
was timeless or obsolete? Write that down?
Now, we are going to overview Leviticus 19 with these
questions in mind. You will notice as you read it that this chapter seems
to have many laws listed that seem unrelated. I want you to listen for a
phrase however. The phrase “Because I am the Lord Your God” is not just a
phrase explaining why to obey these laws, but also a way of setting these
laws into packaged paragraphs. These laws were usually listened to in
public readings more than studied individually. The literary device was
written for an audience that will hear these laws being read. Sometimes
you can see why certain laws are grouped with others.
A. What is Your Motivation
(for obedience)?
To feel good? To be happy? To please God? To get
to heaven? There’s a relational motivation stated in the text over and
over again.
Be Holy Because I Am the Lord Your God
Because of who God is, and because of our
relationship to him, and because of what he has done for us to create that
relationship…these are the motivations for obedience. Relationship should
be our motivation more than achievement. It is out of relationship that
obedience is even possible. It is not possible to achieve the obedience,
but it is possible to love the God who deserves to be loved.
As we read the text I want you to look at the clues
in the text for the proper motivation for obedience. Why it is the Lord
tells us to obey. He will say it many times in this chapter.
Leviticus 19:1-37
The
Lord said to Moses,
2"Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy
because I, the Lord
your God, am holy.
WORSHIP (LOVE) GOD
3" 'Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must
observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord
your God.
4" 'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves.
I am the Lord your God.
SERVE (LOVE) PEOPLE
5" 'When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord,
sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
6It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day;
anything left over until the third day must be burned up.
7If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not
be accepted.
8Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated
what is holy to the Lord;
that person must be cut off from his people.
9" 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very
edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
10Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes
that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the
Lord your God.
11" 'Do not steal. " 'Do not lie. " 'Do not deceive one another.
12" 'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of
your God. I am the Lord.
13" 'Do not defraud your neighbor
or rob him. " 'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
14 "'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the
blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.
15" 'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or
favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor
fairly.
16" 'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. " 'Do not
do anything that endangers your neighbor's
life. I am the Lord.
17" 'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your
neighbor frankly so you will not share in
his guilt.
18" 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your
people, but love your neighbor as
yourself. I am the Lord.
19" 'Keep my decrees. " 'Do not mate different kinds of animals. "
'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. "Do not wear clothing
woven of two kinds of material.
20" 'If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to
another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must
be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had
not been freed.
21The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of
Meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.
22With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make
atonement for him before the Lord
for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.
23" 'When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree,
regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it
forbidden; it must not be eaten.
24In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of
praise to the Lord.
25But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your
harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.
26" 'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. " 'Do not
practice divination or sorcery.
27" 'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the
edges of your beard.
28" 'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on
yourselves. I am the Lord.
29" 'Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or
the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.
30" 'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary.
I am the Lord.
31" 'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be
defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
32" 'Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly
and revere your God. I am the Lord.
33" 'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat
him.
34The alien living with you must be treated as one of your
native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I
am the Lord your God.
35" 'Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight
or quantity.
36Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an
honest hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of
Egypt.
37" 'Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I
am the Lord.' "
Christians customarily divide the Old Testament law into three parts: the
moral law, the civil law, and the ceremonial law. The moral law would be
laws like the 10 commandments. The Civil Law had to do with the
legislative laws as it related to the Old Testament community, and
society, and the Ceremonial Law has to do with the laws about animal
sacrifices and ritual laws. Many Christians assert that only the Moral
law portion of the Old Testament is binding for the Christian. There are
a couple of problems with this way of dividing out and understanding the
Old Testament Laws. The first of which is that the text makes no clear
distinctions like this. Neither does the New Testament make this kind of
distinction. Every law had binding effect in the Old Covenant, and
therefore was considered a moral obligation. There is no easy way of
drawing a line between what is moral, ceremonial, or civil. Many of the
civil laws are grounded on moral judgments. The Apostles had a different
approach than this.
There are many portions of the law that are assumed by Jesus and the
Apostles, but there are also many aspects that are made obsolete by Jesus
and the Apostles. Broadly speaking there on matters of morality the Old
and New Covenants are in agreement but not on every matter.
Please consider below the continuity and discontinuity between the Old and
New Covenants.
II. The NT is the Up to Date Apostolic Harmonization of
the Old And New Covenants.
There is a Continuity and Discontinuity between the Old and New
Covenants
The Continuity:
·
Paul taught that “all Scripture is inspired and profitable”
(2 Timothy 3:16) not just the moral law. There is no clear distinction in
the text itself differentiating what is Ceremonial from what is Civil, or
Moral. In the Old Covenant, all the laws were binding, and therefore, any
disobedience was a matter of morality.
·
The Apostles affirmed the use of the Old Testament in the
following:
·
Prophesy and fulfillment
·
“Typology”
·
Examples of faith and morality
·
History of Redemption
·
Many of the moral principles from the Old Testament are
assumed (example: Matthew 5-7). They are also prioritized (Matthew
22:36-39) and limited (Acts 15).
·
Understanding the very idea of “Covenant”
The Discontinuity
-
The Apostles DENIED Law dependent righteousness in favor of faith
dependent righteousness that comes through a dependent faith
relationship with Christ.
Romans 10:4 Christ is the
end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who
believes.
Colossians 2:14 having
canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and
that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
-
The Law as political constitution of Israel was no longer valid. The
kingdom of God was no longer a political entity, but the rule of God
within an individual. (Luke 17:21)
Luke 17:21
nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it
is,' because the kingdom of God is within
you."
-
The division between Jew and Gentile was eliminated. (Ephesians
2:14-15)
Ephesians 2:14-15 For he
himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the
barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and
regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the
two, thus making peace,
-
The “moral absolutes” of the OT were modified to agree with Jesus’
teachings, example, and atoning sacrifice.
-
The interest in the land of Canaan, and the Temple, was superseded by
the focus on the Body of Christ, the Church.
-
The Old Covenant (including the Abrahamic Covenant) was considered
fulfilled and a New Covenant established.
Luke 22:20 In the same
way, after the supper he took the cup, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
2 Cor. 3:6 He has made
us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the
Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Hebrews 8:13 By calling
this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is
obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Hebrews 10:9-10 Then he
said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to
establish the second.
10And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of
the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
-
The Sacrificial System, Levitical priesthood, and the Holidays were no
longer binding. (see # 1 above and Colossians 2:11-16 below)
Colossians 2:11-16 In
him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature,
not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision
done by Christ,
12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him
through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your
sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was
against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to
the cross.
15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public
spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink,
or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a
Sabbath day.
Summary:
·
assumption that the principles underlying the Old Testament
continued to be valid and authoritative even though the particular
applications had changed drastically because the situation had changed
drastically.
·
Jesus fulfilled all the ceremonial and legal obligations.
·
The legislative portion was drastically different under the
concepts of a spiritual Kingdom, rather than a national political rule.
·
Righteousness was now to be found in a faith relationship to
Jesus.
·
Obeying and following Jesus teachings became the focus.
Jesus teachings however assumed the same moral principles found in the Old
Testament when properly applied.
·
In his teachings, Jesus anticipated the day when the temple
would be no more (this anticipated the fact that the temple system would
be no more also).
·
Worship became focused on the God of Redemption through the
Resurrection of Jesus. (That is why 7th day Sabbath worship
based on Creation and God’s Rest from Creation was refocused to First day
Sabbath worship based on Re-creation, or Redemption based on the Finished
work of the Cross at the Victory of the Resurrection on Sunday. Setting
aside a special day each week to honor God is still the moral principle
for our benefit.
·
The New Testament is the Apostolic Harmonization of the Old
And New Covenants. If you don’t have this understanding, you will come up
with strange man made efforts to harmonize the Old and New Testaments.
You don’t need to do this, the New Testament already is a harmony, the
official authoritative harmony between the two Covenants. If you follow
and practice the New Testament, you will be following and practicing the
Apostolic harmonization between the Old and New Covenants.
Some more examples for clarity from Leviticus 19
READ Leviticus 19:9-10
This does not mean that farmers who use efficient combine harvesters are
disobeying God... the aim of this law is very clear, namely, to allow the
landless poor to collect free food. How do we then apply this law? By
looking for ways we can minister to the poor.
The
NT consistently upholds the OT theme of caring for the weak, or poor, or
helpless. James said,
James 1:26-27 Religion that
God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after
orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being
polluted by the world.
Consider what Jesus had to say about this important Old Testament theme:
Jesus said
Matthew 25:40 'I
tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers of mine, you did for me.'
The Best Motivation for Obedience is A Personal and Relational Motive
Jesus took the principle, love your neighbor and
personalized it. This alone is profound when you consider, it was God who
personalized obedience to the OT laws. Why did the Israelites obey the OT
laws? They were told to obey out of Love for God. How does Jesus
motivate us to obey his commands? Out of love for Him! In fact he made
this personalization so explicit, he called another form of this
personalized form of this command a new command.
John 13:34
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I
have loved you, so you must love one another.
A. How is Your Motivation?
What drives your life choices? What you feel like?
I don’t feel like doing such and such. I do feel like doing such and
such. I have learned that moral laws, a list of do’s and don’ts are not
motivating. Knowing something is right or wrong doesn’t always help me do
what is right. Motivation is a heart matter having to do with
relationship. How is your heart with God? How is your heart with Jesus?
Do you love Him? Do you love the Lord who loves you? If you are
struggling with your love, what is causing your struggle? Is it another
competing love? Why don’t you spend some time in relationship with the
most important love of your life? That will help in the area of your
motivations. Remember, obedience is relational. You love because you are
loved. Ignore that love, and you won’t love. It’s that simple. Do you
love Jesus?
[1]
G. K. Chesterton, Leadership, Vol. 9, no. 2.
[2]
Cartoonist Erik Johnson in Leadership, Vol. 13, no. 1.
[4]
Andrew Murray in With Christ in the School of Prayer. Christianity
Today, Vol. 35, no. 5.
[5]
Catherine Voss, Naperville, Illinois. Christian Reader, "Kids of
the Kingdom."
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