LEVITICUS 19 WHEN TO OBEY AN OLD TESTAMENT LAW2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Leviticus 19 When To Obey An Old Testament Law

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018.

So we're in Leviticus chapter 19 this morning. And as I shared, you know, the past couple of weeks, Leviticus can be a very challenging book for many people and difficult. As we're reading through the Bible in three years, it's a portion of time that often there's a struggle and a lot of questions and wondering about why we're reading these things and what we're supposed to do with them and how to understand what it is that God wants from us as we read through

the book of Leviticus and these laws that God has written for the people of Israel. And so I've titled the message for this morning here in Leviticus chapter 19, When to Obey an Old Testament Law. When to Obey an Old Testament Law.

Because it's something that's really important for us as believers. And I would suggest that it's even something that's lacking in general, speaking of us as Christians, you know, as a whole. There's a huge lack of understanding and discernment into how to approach and how to understand, how to evaluate the laws that we find in the Old Testament and what actually, you

is commanded for us today and what applies to us from all of these things and how to evaluate those things can be quite challenging and it's really necessary for us as believers to develop the skill and to develop the discernment to know how to understand these things and what the Lord would want to say

to us. Let me just share a couple extremes that can take place regarding the Old Testament law. There are those who would go to one side and say, we are not under the law. So Old Testament commandments, they don't apply. We just...

Toss them out. Don't need to pay attention to them. Don't need to regard them. Don't even dive into the Old Testament at all because we're not under the law. We're free in Christ. There's a new covenant in Christ. And so we just don't even pay attention to those things and whatever's written there.

You know, if anything is convicting, well, that's just old covenant. It doesn't apply to me. And so there is that approach that is sometimes taken. But then on the other side, there are those who would take a more legalistic type of approach and say, look, we must follow all the Old Testament commands, all commands, period, Old Testament, New Testament. In order for us to be right with God, we have to do everything. We have to do it all, keep it all, and follow everything. And so it's important for us

to do every single thing that's listed in these commands. And so that includes, you know, dietary laws, that includes, you know, all the things that God addresses. And some would say, we're subject to all of that. You have to keep all of that or you cannot be right with God. And where we need to land in all of this is not in the extremes, but there is a balance in the middle that comes from an understanding of what God really wants from us. Now,

There's a couple things to understand as you jump into the Levitical law, the old covenant, and the commands that are given. We need to understand, first of all, that in this, when God was writing these things through Moses, he had several purposes that he was accomplishing in the writing of Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy and these things that we're working our way through.

One of the purposes of God is that he's revealing his nature and his heart. And so there is a lot of revelation of the character and nature of God throughout these things. And that is part of the intention of God as he's sharing these instructions and giving these commands. He's letting his people know who he is, what he's like, what's important to him, and what pleases him. But there's also another purpose in writing the law, and that is to deal with man's relationship to God.

And to deal with the sin issue, to deal with, you know, bringing man into right relationship with God. There was some temporary provisions that God established in the law that are later fulfilled in Christ. And we get into that as we head into the New Testament.

there's also some eternal principles, though, about man's relationship with God and things that are just true and parts of the way that God has created us to be. And so that's another aspect of the things that God is accomplishing through the law. But another aspect that God was doing, another purpose of the law, is He was also establishing a society of

What is it required for us as a community, you know, to be able to live together in the same region? And what are some guidelines, some requirements, some things that will help us to live together as a society? For example, in Deuteronomy chapter 23, God gives some specific instruction for a variety of things. But one of them is when you need to use the restroom.

here's how to do that. Now, they didn't have, you know, our conveniences of plumbing and those kinds of things. And so you can imagine if we were all camping in one place and there was three million of us for a long time, you have to think about things like this as a society. Like, what are we going to do with all the waste? What are we going to do with all, you know, that extra stuff and the things that we don't, how are we going to handle that? And in Deuteronomy chapter 23, God gives him instruction, go outside of the camp, you know, dig a hole, use the restroom. And

Cover it back up. You know, there's very specific things. So to keep the congregation healthy, you know, to keep everybody, because God's establishing a society. He's teaching them how to live together in a way that is healthy and good for everyone. And so he's revealing himself. He's dealing with relationship with God. He's establishing a society, but he's also establishing a nation. And he's setting the framework for the nation to work. And that includes a judicial system,

how to execute judgments and evaluate things. And that's involved in the law as well as a military. He's establishing a military. He's establishing rulers and governors and kings and everything that goes into that. And so there is a lot happening in this old covenant, in this Old Testament. And God is establishing all of these things. And the challenge then for us comes now, how do we sort through all of that

and figure out, well, which part applies to me today? And understanding there's all these different pieces, what does that mean to me? And as I read verse by verse through these chapters, how do I evaluate? How do I understand what it is that God wants me to do? And what are things that I don't need to pay that much attention to? Jesus says in Matthew 5, verse 17, "'Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets.'

He says, I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Jesus says, don't think I'm just casting out the law. I'm just casting out the Old Testament. None of that matters anymore. I'm here, so just get rid of it all. Jesus says, I'm not doing that. I didn't come to destroy, but I came to fulfill.

And the fulfillment of the law means that there's some pieces that are completed and done that are accomplished in Christ that, well, we don't have to follow some of the requirements anymore because they're fulfilled in Christ. But there's also other elements of the law that continue to today that God would say, this is still my will for you. This is still my command to you. And so we need to learn how to evaluate and how to discern and how to go through these things and think about

When am I supposed to obey an Old Testament law? And understanding that and evaluating that is such a necessary skill for us as believers. And so this morning, the points that I'll be working us through is not so much about the text itself. We'll go through the chapter and talk about some of these laws.

But what I'd like to do is to help you learn how to evaluate these things and to consider these things so that now, tomorrow as you read, and the next day, that you can be running through these things to help you discern what it is that God would speak to you about in these laws that we're reading. And so we're going to look at the first one. It's found in verses 1 and 2. Here's what it says. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, 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. The first thing God says here in Leviticus chapter 19, the first law, you shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. Now, there's a lot about holiness that we could talk about, but we're not going to get into. Again, I don't want to get into all of the details of these things, but

Holiness is about being set apart. God says, I'm set apart. I'm different. I'm not like you. I'm not like anything else that exists in creation. I am completely set apart and different. I am perfect and flawless. And what I'm calling you to do, God says, is to be holy because I am holy. You be set apart because I am set apart. You don't be like the rest of the world. Don't be like everybody else, but you become more like me, God is saying.

And we can look at this law that God gives and we need to evaluate, is this something that God calls us to obey today? And I'd like to give you the first thing to think about when you're evaluating these things. And that is, you obey an Old Testament law when it is repeated in the New Testament.

And this is probably the most common way and easiest route to look at what applies to us today is to look at what has been revealed to us in the New Testament. What did Jesus say? What did the apostles teach in the letters? What did the New Testament have to say about this?

And if we consider this particular law, we'll find that Peter addresses it in 1 Peter 1, verse 15 and 16. He says, And so it becomes very clear through the apostle Peter, this is a command that God wants you to obey. God calls you to holiness.

God calls you to be set apart, to not be like the world, but to be like God, to follow his example, to follow his character and his nature, and not the nature of man or the world around us. And so there is a call to holiness. There's a call to pursue holiness. The author of Hebrews tells us, pursue holiness without which nobody will see the Lord.

It's a command that applies to us today. If we want to see the Lord, we need to pursue holiness. We need to be seeking to be like God. And so that's the first point to help us evaluate when we need to obey an Old Testament law, when it's repeated in the New Testament. And that continues now into verse three. "'Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father "'and keep my Sabbaths. "'I am the Lord your God.'"

So now as we head into verse 3, now we start to evaluate this. Does this command appear in the New Testament so that I can understand if I need to obey it today? And so you can look at the first part of verse 3. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father. And if you search diligently and carefully, you'll find in Ephesians chapter 6, here's what the apostle Paul says. Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.

Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise. And the promise is that it will go well with you, that your life will be blessed. And so this is a command that is repeated. This is a command that still applies today. It is something that we shouldn't have dismissed the youth so early, right? They need to hear. You need to obey your mother and your father. You need to honor them, revere them. This is still what God wants and expects and commands for us as believers today.

But now we get to the second half of verse three, and it's maybe a little bit different because he also says, and keep my Sabbaths, talking about the seventh day, the Saturday, and the commanded rest that God had given to his people. So every Saturday was to be a Sabbath, but then also on the feasts that God had commanded, there were special Sabbaths in those as well. And so there were these mandatory rests, these mandatory days of rest that God had commanded. And here God says, keep my Sabbaths.

Sabbaths. And there is a group of people who would say this still applies today. This is what God calls us to today. But I would challenge that a little bit and give you now the second thing to use to evaluate when to obey an Old Testament law. And that is you obey an Old Testament law when it's not reversed in the New Testament. If it's not specifically addressed in the New Testament says, this is how it used to be, don't do that anymore. Well, then we

Stick to, okay, well, we need to be obedient then to the command that's given. But there are a lot of situations where the New Testament says, okay, things are different now. God has changed some things. Not that God has changed, but that he has given us new instruction and some of the old instruction no longer applies.

This is true regarding the Sabbaths. And you can read through the book of Hebrews to get a great in-depth look at that. But let me give you a glimpse in Colossians chapter two. Here's what Paul says. So let no one judge you in food or in drink or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. And so the New Testament makes it clear the Sabbath rest was a foreshadowing of

of Jesus Christ, now that Christ has come...

It has changed the issue of the Sabbath. It has changed the obedience and the keeping of the Sabbath and what that means and that it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He is our rest and we are not under that law any longer. And that's clear in the book of Acts. It's clear throughout the New Testament that that is not a requirement for us as believers today to keep the Sabbath in the way that God has instructed. And so it's specifically dealt with and we're specifically told that

That has changed, and God does not have that requirement any longer. And so that gives us two really useful tools to evaluate Old Testament laws so that we can discern when to obey an Old Testament law. If it's repeated in the New Testament, well, then it's a command. I need to obey it.

And when it's addressed in the New Testament in a way that says that no longer applies, well, then I'm free from that command and I don't need to adhere to that any longer. Of course, unless personally the Lord tells me to, but generally speaking, it's not a law for all believers to follow. Using these tools, let's evaluate now verse four. Do not turn to idols nor make for yourselves molded gods. I am the Lord, your God.

And so we can look at this and start to evaluate then, is this a command, a law that God would have us to obey today? Does God address idolatry in the New Testament? Is this law repeated? And it is repeated throughout the New Testament. Here's one example, 1 Corinthians 10, verse 14, "'Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.'"

And idolatry can be, as it's referred to here in verse 4, the molded images, you know, the statues that are worshipped. But those statues that they worshipped were not the end of the issue of idolatry because they were worshipping those things for the supposed benefits, you know, those idols could give them. And the New Testament addresses the issue of idolatry as an issue of the heart.

For example, covetousness, that greed, that dissatisfaction and always needing more is referred to as idolatry. And there is this idea and this understanding that anything you place as your primary pursuit and passion instead of God...

Well, that becomes your idol. That becomes your God. And that is idolatry. And so the New Testament is very clear on that. This is a law for you and I today that you are not to turn to idols. You are to protect your heart from things that would take God's place and that would become the thing that you are primarily pursuing and passionate about, that that spot in your heart is reserved for the Lord. That's the law. That's what God commands for us still today.

And so we have these tools, when to obey an Old Testament law. Now we can use these to evaluate verses five through eight for this next piece. It says, if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it of your own free will. It shall be eaten the same day that you offer it and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted.

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. Here we have some instruction regarding a sacrifice and it's a particular kind of sacrifice called the peace offering. The peace offering was not the sin offering. It was not the burnt offering. It was a very specific kind of offering that was for fellowship with God.

It was kind of a Thanksgiving offering. And it was, well, it was not completely burned on the altar, but there was a small piece of the peace offering that would be taken from the animal and burned on the altar. There was a portion of that animal that was given to the priest who helped you perform the sacrifice. But the majority of this animal that you had sacrificed to the Lord would then be yours, right?

to enjoy as a great feast. You'd have a big barbecue and your family would sit around the table and enjoy a good meal and just celebrate what God has done and enjoy your fellowship with him and be thanking God for his goodness in your life. And that's what the peace offering was essentially about. And so it was a good time of fellowship that God had established for him and his people. But as we look at this today,

We can consider these things. Is this command repeated in the New Testament for us to offer a sacrifice of a peace offering? You won't find that instruction, that command given to us as believers today. And then you can evaluate, well, is this reversed in the New Testament? And well, as you look at the instruction that we're giving regarding the sacrifices, you find that it is reversed, that these sacrifices are not required for us today.

any longer. And the author of Hebrews deals with this in great detail. In Hebrews chapter 10, verse 1, he says,

The sacrifices were the shadow. They were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He's the one who can make us perfect. These sacrifices had value. They were important for the time, but they were temporary until the work of Jesus Christ. And so that is fulfilled. And this law no longer directly applies in that way. However, I would say that there's some gaps

good stuff for us to chew on in spiritual insight and priorities and principles that perhaps God would want to speak to you about. In that, notice in verse 5, he says the peace offering, you must offer it. You have to offer it. It's commanded you must offer this of your own free will. Nobody's obligated to do this. And it gives us that good understanding. When God's inviting us to fellowship,

It's an invitation. And you are to come to God and walk with God and have fellowship with God of your own free will. It's not compulsory. You know, God does not force you to enjoy him and thank him and, you know, bless him for what he has done and to have fellowship with him that way. And then there's maybe some stuff you could consider about the timing. God says you're to partake of this and just feast on it.

But don't like let it just sit there and get stale, you know, for the next seven days and you're still, you know, just nibbling on. No, no, just enjoy all that I have for you.

right now. And there's a great invitation there where God would say, come and enjoy my grace, my goodness, my mercy, my fellowship completely and fully. Don't try to like, well, I don't want to spend too much time with God today because, you know, I want to save a little bit for tomorrow, you know. Like, no, no, no. Just come, feast, enjoy, and experience the presence of God right

holy. And so there's some great principles, but it's not a law. It's not, you know, a legal thing for us to do in the sense that it's a command that is universally applied to all believers that we all must follow.

And so we're learning some good stuff here, how to evaluate when to obey an Old Testament law. We're going to look now at verses 9 through 11. It says,

Here God addresses a couple of things, but the primary thing is,

harvesting your land. They were primarily, you know, dealing with agriculture. They had fields. They had, you know, things that they were harvesting. And God says, when you do that, leave the corners. Leave some around the edges. And when you've, you know, pulled all the apples from the tree and you move on, you look back and go, oh man, I missed some apples. God says, just leave them. And leave them for a specific purpose. He says in verse 10, so that the poor are able to come in and get them.

And so in this, God was providing for the poor of the land and giving them an opportunity to get some food by you not taking everything that was produced in your field. Now, is this a law that God requires us to obey today? Well, is it repeated in the New Testament?

There's some concepts that we could consider, but this specific detail about the field and the corners, and that's not repeated. We're not given that kind of instruction in the New Testament. It's also not reversed. And God says, okay, remember the field thing? Yeah, scratch that. Take everything you can get. You know, God doesn't do that either. And so I suggest there's a third element that we need to use to evaluate these things. And that is

When God's heart is clearly revealed. And I would suggest that this is an indication or this is a situation where God's heart is revealed. Here's what God is dealing with in regards to our hearts. He's talking about our giving, but he's also talking about those who are receiving. And he's revealing his heart about these things.

And so in giving, well, God has revealed, hey, it's important for you when you're blessed, when you're receiving, you're harvesting, you have things coming in, you have income coming in. Well, it's important. It's good for you. It's necessary to be able to let others be blessed also as you are blessed. We can kind of consider this also in the New Testament in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 16 says,

We're instructed, do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Here we're learning about the heart of God. God says, you know what pleases me?

When you don't take everything that you can get for yourself, but that you allow some of that that has been produced on your behalf, for your benefit, but that you allow some of that to bless others. That you would be generous, that you would be able to give and to help others who are in need and would benefit from what you could offer to them.

Another important passage that you could consider is 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9, where Paul talks a lot about giving. Now, we usually look at that and perhaps have the mindset, the perspective of giving to the church or tithe, you know, that kind of concepts. But actually, when Paul is writing that, he's taking up a collection of

to give to the poor in Jerusalem who were in need because of a famine. It was not about, you know, supporting a local church, but it was about helping fellow believers who were in need. And that's where Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9, verse 7, Again, we're learning about the heart of God. What does God love? A cheerful giver.

And so God loves it. He wants us to have a heart that is willing to give of what he has blessed us with to help others who are not as blessed. And so we learn about God's heart towards giving, but we also learn about God's heart towards receiving in that in verse 10, he says, look, don't glean them. Don't take every grape off the vine, but leave them, he says, for the poor and the stranger.

And what he's doing here is he's giving the poor and the stranger an opportunity to put forth some effort of their own in order to receive the fruit that is there. Notice God doesn't tell them, harvest and take every grape and then package it up and give it to somebody. He says, no, just leave it and let them work for it.

Let there be some energy expended on their part that they would labor. And this is what Ruth was doing in the book of Ruth. Remember, she's in the field and she winds up in Boaz's field. And this is what she's doing. She's going behind the workers and harvesting what's left over, what they miss, what they don't harvest. And even Boaz, remember, he told them like, hey, let some fall out of your basket and stuff, you know, just make it easy for her because he wanted to provide for her.

because he wanted to bless her. And that's the heart of God towards the giver, but also towards the receiver, that you would not just expect everything to be handed to you, but that God would want you to know, hey, it's appropriate that you put forth some effort and that you work for what you receive. Paul the Apostle put it this way in 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 10. He says, when we were with you, we commanded you this, if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. This is God's heart.

That you should contribute for what you receive and not just do nothing and take everything. That's not God's heart. And so as we look at this command, we can see God's heart is clearly revealed here in the verses, but also as we consider the concept in the New Testament. And we understand this is something God wants us to follow.

He wants us to be generous. He loves it when we're generous with what we have. And when we don't have, he wants us to be able to work for it and to put forth some effort that we would be able to contribute in regards to the things that we receive. And so here's some useful tools for evaluating when to obey an Old Testament law, when it's repeated in the New Testament, when it's not reversed in the New Testament, and when God's heart is clearly revealed. Verse 12 now.

And you shall not swear by my name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of the Lord. I'm sorry, the name of your God. I am the Lord. We're going to go through the next few pretty quickly. So this is one that we can look at and find very quickly. This is repeated in the New Testament in a variety of ways. And we're just dealing with one aspect. But James tells us in James 5.12, above all my brethren, do not swear, not by heaven, not by earth or with any other oath.

Instead, let your yes be yes and your no, no. When he's talking about swearing, he's not talking about cursing.

He's talking about making promises. And he says, look, you need to be a man or woman of your word. You need to have a credible, you know, and be credible in what you say. And so don't require that you have to promise by heaven. And I promise to Jesus. And I promise this, you know, don't let that be the conduct of your life. Instead, just be a man or woman of your word. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

And so we find this repeated in the New Testament. This is instruction for us. And now we evaluate verse 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. Here he's dealing with a couple of thoughts, but kind of just combining them together into this concept of like employee-employer type of relationship. And when you hire someone, when you are hiring someone to do work for you,

God says, don't cheat them. Do what's right. You know, treat them fairly. Also, don't hold on to their wages. In that day, they were paid daily. So that's why the instruction here is daily. Don't hold it overnight and say, well, I'll pay you tomorrow. You know, I'll pay you next week for the work that you're doing today. You know, when I should pay you this week. That's the idea. Don't delay that. But

Pay what you owe for those who have done the work for you. And we can evaluate that. Is this repeated in the New Testament? Or in the New Testament, does God say, you remember that thing about paying people on time and stuff? Don't do that. That's nonsense. No, God doesn't say that. God's heart is clearly revealed, and this is actually repeated in the New Testament. In Colossians 4, verse 1.

The Lord says, masters, give your bond servants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a master in heaven. You're to pay what's right. Don't cheat them. You're to pay them what's right. You're to honor that relationship and to honor the Lord in paying those that you owe. And so that's something that God would say, this is a law. This is what you are to follow. You are to keep this and continue doing this.

Now we move to verse 14. You shall not curse the deaf nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God. I am the Lord. Now what kind of people need a law to tell them not to curse the deaf and not to put a stumbling block before a blind person? What kind of people need a law to say, don't do that? Our kind of people. We're the kind of people. We're sinful people. And we need that kind of instruction.

And this is something that if you look, you'll find is repeated and maybe not in this specific detail. So maybe you want to say, you know, God's heart is clearly revealed in this. But 1 Timothy 2, verse 17, the Lord tells us, honor all people.

Cursing the deaf is not honoring the person who is deaf. It's not. Cursing the deaf is cruel because they can't even hear the curse. They can't even hear you mocking and making fun or whatever. And that's not honoring all people. And stumbling the blind, of course, is not honoring all people. Funny story. When I was newly in a relationship with a girl named Kimberly, and she first met my family...

She accidentally kicked the cane of a blind person. It was an accident, and so it wasn't, but you know, when you're giving your first impression to your future in-laws, you know, that's not the kind of thing that you want to be doing, so we like to tease her about it, but other than that, she honors all people, so we're good on that one, okay? Verse 15.

Here, God is addressing judgment and righteous judgment, just judgment, but also the issue of partiality. And there's a

couple things combined in here, but you can find all of these concepts in the New Testament as well. These commands are repeated. Here's an example. In James chapter 2 verse 1, James says, My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with you.

partiality. God wants you to deal with people and treat people as people regardless of whether they have little or whether they have much. God wants us to relate to people not on the basis of their status or their standing or their class but

but that we would relate to people as people, as his children, as our brothers and sisters, as fellow human beings. And God wants us to deal with people in that way, in judgment, in relationship, in spiritual things, in all of the above. And so this is a law that continues today. This is a time to obey this Old Testament law because it is a concept that God also teaches in the New Testament. Verse 16 says,

You shall not go about as a tailbearer among your people, nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor. I am the Lord. Is this a command that we need to obey today? Is this a law that continues for us today? Absolutely. This is repeated in the New Testament. 1 Peter 4.15 tells us, "'Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.'"

It's also addressed throughout the New Testament as gossip and slander. There is this instruction. You are not to go about as a tailbearer. Now, as you look at the New Testament, God doesn't say, you know, that tailbearer thing, never mind about that. In fact, let me create the internet so that you can engage in that. That's not what God says. This is a law. This is what God expects still of you as a believer today.

You are not to be engaged in gossip and tailbearing and talking about people continually as a busybody. Now, I like what Pastor John Corson had to say about this. He said, look, great minds think about and talk about ideas. Big minds think about and talk about events. And little tiny puny minds think about and talk about people. Great minds talk about ideas.

Concepts, philosophies, you know, and there is that discussion and that's the focus. Big minds talk about events. Hey, what's going on in the world? You know, what things are happening and the things that are going on? And that's a big mind. But it's little tiny puny minds, he says, that...

that are thinking about talking about people. And maybe that's not a verse that you can turn to, but it's a good thing to consider. This is not what God would have us to be occupying ourselves with as busybodies, tailbearers, and talking about each other or other people alone.

but really instead focused on other things and the things of the Lord. And so this is a law for us to continue to walk in. Verse 17, you shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him. And so here God deals with our relationship with our brother, with our neighbor. And he says, don't hate them. Don't hate them in your heart. And this is one that as we evaluate, do we find this repeated in the New Testament? Yes.

And you'll see that this first point of evaluation, it's the one that's most used and most frequently we actually find. All these Old Testament laws and much that's contained here, we actually find these concepts repeated in the New Testament and we can see that this is stuff that God still wants us to be walking in. 1 John 3.15 tells us, whoever hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

God never wants you to hate people. People are never the enemy. People are never, you know, the ones that we are to be against. God is always for people. And we are to be for people in that same way. It's interesting. He says in verse 17, you shall not hate your brother in your heart. Now,

In Jesus's day, the religious leaders had kind of perfected the, well, let's keep the letter of the law, even though we don't actually keep the law in our hearts, you know? And so they were, you know, experts at trying to, well, I don't do hateful actions, but there was still issues of the heart. And that's what the Sermon on the Mount is all about, right? You've heard it said, and he deals with these like external things and the way that they practice them. But he's saying, look, God was addressing your heart.

And so, yeah, maybe you don't do all the hateful things that you'd like to do to them, but that's not enough as far as God's concerned. God's concerned about your heart, the attitude of your heart. You are not to hate your brother, your neighbor, your friend, your family, your fellow Christian. You are not to hate the people around you. This is a law that is still for us, that we are to obey God.

Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said that's the second greatest commandment. First one is love God, and then love your neighbor as yourself. And so again, here's these useful tools for evaluating when to obey an Old Testament law. When it's repeated in the New Testament, we obey it. If it's not reversed in the New Testament, we obey it. If God's heart is clearly revealed, then we obey it. Verse 18 says,

You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. And there's the specific verse that Jesus even quoted from. But here he, first of all, addresses this issue of vengeance, paying people back for something that they've done, for some hurt, for some harm, not talking about like, you know, alleged harm, but actual harm. You've actually been harmed. You've actually been hurt, right?

God's law is you shall not take vengeance. Is this a law that we are called to obey? Well, yes, it actually is repeated in the New Testament a few times, but here's one, Romans 12, 19. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves. Don't try to pay back someone who has hurt you and harmed you, but rather give place to wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

Christians, this is God's command to you. Do not try to pay people back for wrong that they've done to you. That's not your place and God doesn't command you or allow you to do that. That's forbidden. You must not take vengeance into your own hands. And so again, these are valuable tools. We need to learn these things, but not everything is always so easy and clear. And so now we get to verse 19.

Quick, someone check the tag on my shirt. See, is this mixed linen and wool? What do we do with this law? Well, first, is it repeated in the New Testament? And you can search throughout the New Testament. I haven't found it. Maybe you could find it, but try searching.

This is not a command that's repeated. We're not told about this kind of behavior with livestock or with clothing. It's also not reversed in the New Testament. So we don't see God say, okay, remember that thing with the clothing and stuff, you know, throw that out. Is God's heart clearly revealed? Maybe there's room for discussion on this, but not really. We see the instruction, but we don't see the heart behind it. Why? What's going on here?

And there's some questions about this. Now, if you want to look at some different commentaries and things, you can find a variety of perspectives and opinions, but it's us as people guessing about why God gave this instruction. We don't actually know. God doesn't tell us why he gave this instruction. It's a bit of a mystery. And you know, there are some laws that are like that. And in that case, we rest then in that God will make clear

what it is that he wants us to follow. Doctrine is not formed by one random verse somewhere in the Bible. That's not how doctrine is formed. And God doesn't expect you and hold you to a law in that way that it's, you know, one verse in the whole scriptures. You know, when God wants you to do something, when God wants you to abide by something, he tells you and he tells you and he tells you and he tells you. And so we can look at this and understand this. There was a reason for what God said here.

We just don't know what it was. It's not that important for us to understand it because it's not for us. If it was for us, then God would have brought clarity to this instruction. It was clear to them in Moses' day when this command was given, they knew what this was about. There's some suggestions that, you know, this was part of pagan practices, part of, you know, worshiping idols, that there was these, you know, mystical combining of things to try to, you know, produce whatever. And

Again, we don't have that clarity, but they did. And that's the point is they knew what it was for. We don't know what it's for because God is in that saying, that's not for you. I'm not requiring you to hold to this law. In Connecticut, it is illegal to sell pickles that don't bounce. It's really important for you to know this.

Because back in the 1800s sometime, there was people who were selling pickles, but it turned out later on they were actually cucumbers. And for some reason, this was a big issue. And so they passed a law. And the way to test whether or not it was a pickle was if it bounced. Okay, now we have a little bit of a context to that law. Imagine 100 years from now, right? If the story's gone and it's just a law on the books.

pickles must bounce. And we can read that law and go, we kind of still look at the law and go, okay, well, I guess so. It's a law. They knew what it meant at the time. It was appropriate for the time to

But the context has been lost and God hasn't made it clear because it's not for us. He doesn't hold us to this law. Well, what about verses 20 through 22 now as we go on? Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is betrothed to a man as a concubine and who has not been at all redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be scourging, but they shall not be put to death because she was not free.

And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering. The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him. And so here we have a few verses about this one particular kind of sin, this one particular kind of immorality that takes place and God's instruction regarding that.

Now, there's a lot going on here that we're not going to get into today. But if you're troubled by these verses, let me just kind of settle that and say, look, if you dig into these things, you'll understand this is a fair and just handling of a difficult situation. And so the idea is, here is a woman who is a servant of God.

But she's betrothed to some man and some other man comes and they have relationship together sexually. Right?

Now, what do we do with that? Now, there's other parts of the law. And in chapter 18, God talks about sexual morality and those kinds of things specifically. And there's specific instruction where adultery has taken place. God told them, again, establishing the laws of their nation. That is to be a capital offense. That is, you know, death was the result of that. But in this case, God says, this is not an execution type of case because adultery,

Well, first of all, neither of them are married. And so this is not a clear case of adultery. But secondly, we don't know the full circumstances behind this. And the idea here is he says in verse 20 that, you know, she was not free. The idea was that she was a servant, right?

She, giving her the benefit of the doubt, that's what God loves to do. He gives her the benefit of the doubt and says, look, she felt compelled as a servant. She didn't feel the freedom to be able to object, to cry out and to put a stop to the situation. And so she's not to be executed for that. She's not, she's a victim. She's not, you know, a guilty party.

The guy, he's a guilty party, but it's also not execution for him because, well, we're assuming the benefit of the doubt for her, but we don't know that to be true for sure. And so no execution for him. It is a sin. He has to, you know, be scourged and do the sacrifice and he'll be forgiven. There's opportunity for reconciliation after that, but it's a protection for a situation that's not clear and God is protecting the innocent from being

put to death. He deals with a similar situation in Deuteronomy chapter 20, where if a woman is forced upon by a man in a field, or in other words, away from people, then she is to be treated as innocent because she likely did cry out, but nobody was around to save her. So he's guilty, deal with him, she's innocent.

in town where she has opportunity and people around and she can cry out for help, you know, that's a different context. But so God set these things in place to protect the innocent. And, you know, we don't have to get into all of the specifics about every type of case. The New Testament has a lot to say about sexual immorality. And the heart of God is clear in that, that

Sex is to be kept to the confines of marriage and marriage alone. And that is the only place for any type of sexual experience to be allowed according to what God calls us to and God's commands for us. And so God's heart is revealed in this. It's not a, you know, the specific details are not necessarily exactly for us at this moment, but the heart behind it is.

All right, verses 23 through 25. And so now we look at this one and evaluate it. Is this command repeated in the New Testament?

That when you go into, you know, you buy a new house and you plant a tree, you have to wait five years before you can partake of the fruit. Is that a law that's repeated in the New Testament? No, it's not repeated in the New Testament. Is it reversed in the New Testament? Nope, it's not reversed in the New Testament either. Is God's heart clearly revealed? Not really. We understand the instruction, but he's not giving us a lot of detail as to why and what his heart is in the matter. And so I would suggest there's a fourth law

condition that we need to consider when we're looking at the laws of the Old Testament, and that is we obey God's law when it's not restricted to a certain time or context. You'll notice in verse 23, God says, when you come into the land, God is speaking to his people in a particular time, a particular context. They're preparing to go into the promised land, the land of Israel. And so God says, when that happens, you move into there, then here's what to do when you

It seems that it's limited to that specific context and that specific time. It doesn't apply to us because we're not in the congregation of the children of Israel about to head into the promised land. It's not something that God has instructed and required for us. And so when it's clearly limited to a specific context, it's for that context. And when we're outside of that context, then that's a law that we're not bound to obey. Verses 26 through 29 says,

You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am the Lord. Do not prostitute your daughter to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry and the land become full of wickedness.

here we have a couple verses i grouped them together because they they seem to be related to each other and and they're a little bit uh well there's room for discussion on these ones there's room for us to consider and and as you look at them you find okay is this command repeated in the new testament

Not eating anything with the blood, that's not commanded. We don't see that command. Divination and soothsaying, we'll talk about that in just a moment. We do see that addressed. Shaving certain ways, you can't shave certain ways. We don't see that addressed in the New Testament.

Making any cuttings in your flesh for the dead nor tattoo on you. Now, a lot of people use this. In fact, if you listen to pastor's perspective, it's usually at least once a week, someone calls in, is it okay to get a tattoo? You know, and you know, someone told me I can't get a tattoo or I'm going to hell because I got a tattoo. And this is the proof text for that, that this is. Now, here's the thing. If there's one verse in all the Bible that addresses this issue, it's

Well, then there's a lot of room for discussion about that. I mean, realistically, God only has to say something once for it to be real. But at the same time,

If there's some discussion that is reasonable around it, well, then we need a little bit more than just one verse in the whole Bible that addresses a situation. And this is one of those cases. This seems to be connected to the cuttings in your flesh for the dead, that there were some practices that were going on for the dead. It was a part of a religious type of thing that was going on that these tattoo marks are associated with.

And God says, don't participate in that. It is not addressing, you know, what we would look at and understand as tattoos today. And so these verses, I would kind of lump together as these are not binding to us. These are not repeated in the New Testament. This is contextual. This is dealing with things that were going on. And so we can learn some principles perhaps from them, but they're not a clear binding law that everybody has to adhere to in the way that some would, you know, understand it. In verse 30 says,

Here we deal with the Sabbaths again. God has reversed that in the New Testament. Jesus is our Sabbath. And then reverence the sanctuary. This is regarding the tabernacle, perhaps the temple. I would suggest it's limited to that particular context. You could look at that as churches, perhaps, you know, that kind of thing. But it's not really dealt with in the scriptures in that way. Verse 31 says,

Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits. Do not seek after them to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. In evaluating this verse, I would add one more thing to understand when to obey an Old Testament law. When it's repeated in the New Testament, we obey it. If it's not reversed in the New Testament, we obey it. When God's heart's clearly revealed, we obey it. When it's not restricted to a certain time, we obey it.

But also, if all of those things, you know, are not there, still, when the Old Testament repetition makes God's heart clear, we need to obey it. And this is one of those cases where mediums contacting the dead through these, you know, spiritual, so-called spiritual, you know, guides and stuff, that is talked about in the Old Testament a lot, but

It's not specifically forbidden, but there is some issues and some accounts that address it. And so there's a lot to consider. But the point is, we can look at the rest of the Old Testament and understand this is not what God would have his people to be a part of. And you can see that in Deuteronomy 18.

When God says, there shall not be found any among you who, and he lists a few things, one of them is who conjures spells or a medium or a spiritist or one who calls up the dead. God says, that's clearly not what I want. In Isaiah, he talks about this as well. He says, look, God should, or people should reach out to God and seek answers from God, not from the dead.

And so we're to be, you know, seeking God and seeking what he wants, not trying to get answers from those who have died. In 2 Chronicles 33, it talks about Manasseh and how he sought out spirits, spiritists and soothsayers and witchcraft and mediums and how, you know, the Lord was provoked to wrath as a result of that.

We see Samuel deal with this in 1 Samuel 28 as he tries to reach out to, as Saul tries to reach out to Samuel after Samuel has died and God rebukes him for that. In Acts 16, Paul encounters a girl who is demon-possessed, who is contacting the dead and fortune-telling and all that kind of thing.

And it's because she's demon possessed and he frees her from the demon and she's no longer able to do that. And so there's some good insight about those practices there. This is a law that God would continue to apply to us today. You're not to be involved in anything like that. Medium, soothsaying, fortune telling, astrology, you know, that's not part of what God has for us. Verse 32, you shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man and fear your God, I am God.

Is this a law for us to obey?

Well, you can look around, you can consider. Here's a New Testament repetition of the law. Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. God connects this to the character issue of humility that you are to honor, you are to respect those who are older, the gray haired. And there's some gray haired among us, right?

I feel a little bit like, you know, I'm getting old, but I'm not going to have the gray hair. It's just all the gray hairs are falling out. So I'm not going to get the respect I deserve, but that's okay. You guys can take it. So those are the laws. Now then God concludes in verse 37. Therefore, you shall observe all my statutes and all my judgments and perform them. I am the Lord.

There's a lot that we didn't get into, obviously, but I hope that these principles will be helpful for you as we continue to read through the Bible, as we continue to work our way through these things, that you would grow in your ability to discern and understand what is applicable, what does God want for me right now as you look at and evaluate God's

Old Testament laws. There is much value in these things and there's much of himself that God wants to reveal as we spend time with him. And so I would encourage you to dig in and to spend time looking through and praying through and finding out what applies to you, what God commands for today and what God has set us free from. And there are some things in that as well. One last scripture to consider and that is Luke chapter six, verse 46. Jesus says, why do you call me Lord, Lord?

and do not do the things which I say. There are those who, you know, want the security of eternity, but don't want to change their life. And Jesus says, that's not consistent with my followers.

You call me Lord, Lord. In fact, he says, there are going to be many who call me Lord, Lord, and don't enter into the kingdom of God because they didn't do the will of God. And there is a requirement for us as followers of Jesus. There are laws that do apply, and God calls us to obedience to do what he says. And so I would encourage you to read through these things with that in mind, that these are not just random things for us to have information about.

But these are instructions for us to how to live our lives, that we might walk with God and be holy as he is holy. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word and the call to holiness. It's a needed call and a needed challenge for us. We are easily content and complacent in our sin, which brings such destruction to our lives. And so God, I pray that you would show us in these things where we are in violation of your laws and where you would call us out into obedience with you

which is for our benefit and because you love us and want to bless us. And so Lord, help us to walk with you and obey as you speak these things to our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.