Last week, the United States Supreme Court held two days of
oral arguments related to same-sex marriage. As has become common in the last
few years, social media exploded with comments on the topic. On the Monday
evening, my newsfeed on Facebook displayed a lively discussion among a group of
college-aged young people expressing their views on same-sex marriage. A number
of times in the 40 or so postings that I saw made mention of the Bible. Some were
saying the Bible makes the issue clear, whereas others were suggesting that the
Bible was being used inconsistently. How can you say homosexuality or same-sex marriage
is wrong, if you disregard some of God’s commands about food, and eat ham or
shellfish?
Though no one stated it in a post, there were questions being
asked in the background. Questions like: Are we inconsistent in how we read the
Bible? Why do we try to follow some of the Old Testament commands but not all
of them?
Though answering those questions could require taking a
semester long class in a theological seminary and reading a number of books and
papers, I would like to try and offer some quick handles to help us read and
follow our Bible consistently, and to have a way to answer people when they ask
if we are being inconsistent.
Handle #1 – Some Commands had a built in Expiration
Date
Exodus 25:40 is a short verse that we could easily pass over
in reading our Bibles. But it is a verse that we should pay attention to
carefully when answering these questions. It reads:
And see that you make them after
the pattern for them, which is being show you on the mountain.
The point of the verse was that Moses and the people building
the tabernacle and all its stuff were actually building a model, patterned
after the real thing. God was telling Moses, the builders, and all readers
since that there was a built in obsolescence to the tabernacle and everything
related to it. In case the readers did not catch that in verse 40, God had
already said the same thing in Exodus 25:9, and then repeated it again in
Exodus 26:30 and 27:8.
Why bring that up? The tabernacle, and later the temple, was
the place where people went to meet with God in the Old Testament. A large
number of commands in the first part of the Old Testament were given so that
people would know how to approach the Holy God. They needed to be purified. We call
those commands the ceremonial law. Those laws, which touched on issues like
food and clothing, were given so people could be pure and could approach God.
But since the tabernacle was a model, not the real thing, those commands, like
certain foods we know today, had an expiration date. They were valid for a
time, but not for forever.
When was the expiration date? Matthew 27:51 says:
And behold, the curtain of the
temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks
were split.
The curtain of the temple served as a physical barrier
between God’s presence and the people. When Jesus died on the cross, God, torn
that curtain from top to bottom. God declared that the way we come to Him, the
Holy God was no longer through ceremonial laws, but through the purification
that comes through trusting the Lord Jesus. Hebrews 10:19-22 calls us to draw
near to God through Jesus.
When we no longer follow the ceremonial law, we are not
being inconsistent; we are being obedient to God. We are coming to God the way
He says we should. The ceremonial law served its purpose, but that purpose was
brought to completion in the Lord Jesus.
Handle #2 – Some Commands are non-perishable
In a number of places in the New Testament, commands from the
Old Testament are clarified, re-stated, or re-affirmed. The Sermon on the Mount
in Matthew 5-7 and Romans 13:8:10 are just two examples where God underlines
that some of the commands He made in the Old Testament are still valid and
binding. They are non-perishable. We still are called by God to conform our
sexual lives to His standards, to honor life as He honors life, to contribute
to others rather than take from them and desire to have their stuff, instead of
them having their stuff.
I pray these handles offer you some help in reading and
following the Bible. Clearly I did not address every issue, please let me know
other questions and issues you might have concerning reading and following the Bible
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