Transcript moral law.
Leviticus THE BOOK OF BE HOLY, AS I AM HOLY Ceremonial Law: This type of law relates to Israel’s worship (Leviticus 1:1-13). The laws pointed forward to Jesus Christ and were no longer necessary after Jesus’ resurrection. Though we are no longer bound to them, the principles behind the ceremonial laws, that is to worship and love God, still apply. Civil Law: This law directed Israel’s daily living (Deuteronomy 23:10-11); the principles behind these commandments are used to guide our conduct. American laws were originally founded upon much of biblical civil law. However, Christianity is no longer a theocracy. We are a government founded upon Christian principles not a government run by priests. Moral Law: The moral laws are direct commands of God. The most common example are the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). The moral laws reveal the nature and the will of God, and they still apply to us today. They are God’s timeless truths regarding ethical behavior. The Moral Law “Confusion between justification and sanctification is often made worse by a failure to distinguish and/or rightly apply the New Testament passages which have the ceremonial law of the Old Testament in view, from those passages which are addressing the moral law of God.” ~Aggressive Sanctification by Mike Fabarez Definition Overview Justification is the process of becoming righteous or “just” in the eyes of God because of the redemptive work of Christ. We are given a new nature at the New Birth and become justified before God. Justification is instantaneous at the New Birth and leads to sanctification. Sanctification is often translated in the KJV as “holiness.” While “sanctification” and “holiness” have virtually the same meaning, sanctification is the ongoing process of living out a lifestyle of inward and outward holiness before God. Sanctification has two aspects: that which is performed by God (Hebrews 2:11, 1 Peter 1:2), and the fulfillment of the believer’s responsibilities (Leviticus 11:44, 1 Peter 1:15). Sanctification (holiness) is not an instantaneous work of the Spirit, it is a lifelong progressive process of cooperation between the believer and the Holy Spirit. The sanctified (holy) life is a life so fully surrendered to fellowship with Christ that both the inner spirit and outward expression are ruled by the Spirit. Understanding Moral Law & Context The third category of Old Testament rules is traditionally called “moral law.” These laws are not about religious calendars or criminal restitution. They do not contain the symbolism of “clean and unclean” foods or fibers. They are not about incarceration or the reign of earthly kings. These rules are expressed from Genesis to Malachi and teach us what is moral, ethical, honest, virtuous and righteous. Unlike the civil and ceremonial laws, we cannot look at just one passage to find them. They are not contained in one list or a single book of the Old Testament. They punctuate the narratives of Scripture and they can be extracted from the wise counsel that unfolds within each installment of God’s inspired library. Each of these rules reflects something of God’s good character. They are an expression of his moral virtue. They give us an articulated standard of what is right. These are laws we love because of what they embody and reflect. They are never obsolete and must never be put aside. And because these laws are the guide for Christian living, we find them repeated, emphasized, and reinforced on just about every page of the New Testament. Keeping this brief summary of the three distinguishable aspects of the Old Testament rules in mind, we can begin to see why it is possible to mistakenly downplay or even dismiss the moral rules of God when we read a New Testament passage without first determining which category of “law” the passage is talking about. And because moral laws and ceremonial laws are both abbreviated in in the New Testament by the word “law”, we must be careful to always examine the context. One cannot simply quote a New Testament passage about the law if one hasn’t clearly determined which kind of law the passage has in view. ~Equipped Conference Materials Key Verses Leviticus 17:11 For THE LIFE OF THE FLESH IS IN THE BLOOD: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. This is the key verse in Scripture that begins to overtly emphasize the importance of blood in our salvation. The blood of bulls and goats never had the power to take away sin. Each of the sacrificial rituals was “a shadow of the good things to come” (Hebrews 12;1). They pointed forward to God’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross: “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:28). Leviticus 20:7-8 7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. 8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you. AUTHOR: Moses DATE: About 1440 B.C., shortly after the Hebrews deliverance from Egypt. THEOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTION: The book of Leviticus is important because of its teachings on three vital spiritual truths: atonement, sacrifice, and holiness. Without the background of these concepts in Leviticus, we could not understand their later fulfillment in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Quick Definition ATONEMENT From the Hebrew meaning to “cover over”(Exodus 29:33) sin, and in the Greek meaning “reconciliation” (Romans 5:11; 11:15; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19). The term is used to signify the satisfaction of divine judgement for the sins of mankind, by animal sacrifice in the Old Testament, and by the death of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Some break the English word into three parts to express a great and simple truth: “AT-ONE-MENT.” Through God’s atoning grace and forgiveness meeting man’s faith and obedience, a relationship of AT-ONEMENT is possible. Leviticus Naturally Divides Into Five Units: 1. Laws about sacrifice, 1-7 2. Laws about priestly ordination, 8-10 3. Laws about physical and moral impurities, 11-16 4. Laws about physical and moral holiness, 17-26 5. Laws about vows, 27 Leviticus is the third book of the Pentateuch THE FIVE BOOKS OF OLD TESTAMENT LAW AUTHORED BY MOSES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Overview of Leviticus 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Leviticus gives the roadmap to holiness. The book is addressed to believers. Exodus ended by giving attention to where God should be worshipped (the tabernacle) – Leviticus focuses on how God should be worshipped. Exodus emphasizes location. In Leviticus the emphasis is on attitude and proper relationship which can only be obtained through holiness. More than any other Old Testament book Leviticus calls Israel to a holy life. The word holiness or sanctification is used 150 times in Leviticus (that’s about 20% of all occurrences in the Old Testament). You would be mistaken to believe that these holiness commands were only for the priests. Only about 4 of the 27 chapters are exclusively for the priests. The remainder is addressed to all people. A holiness for all and out of reach of none. HOLINESS SACRIFICE ATONEMENT The Sacrificial System Leviticus 1-7 Leviticus 1:1-3 1 And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. 3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. God did not speak to Moses concerning the sacrifices until after the tabernacle had been completed. Obedience is the key that unlock the door to further revelation. Ancient culture understood that you never approach a superior without a gift. It would have been unthinkable in ancient times to approach God without an offering of some kind. There is a major contrast between the kinds of animals that God demanded as sacrifices and pagan sacrifices. God called for “clean” animals, peaceful, and perfect animals unlike the pagan rituals of the day. Godly sacrifices symbolized innocence, purity, and righteousness because they pointed towards Jesus. The “burnt sacrifice” was the most important sacrifice because it meant that it was “wholly consumed”. Giving a new understand to what Paul meant when he said to “present your bodies a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1)”. Everything must go! The Sacrificial System Leviticus 1-7 Leviticus 1:4 And he shall PUT HIS HAND UPON THE HEAD OF THE BURNT OFFERING; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. Notice that the laying of the hand signified transference. In this situation it represented a transference of guilt (or substitution). The laying on of a hand upon the head of the burnt offering was an impartation from one thing to another. In Acts 13:3 they laid hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them to Seleucia. Paul reminds Timothy that the gift was stirred in him by the laying on of hands (1 Timothy 4:14). James 5:14 instructs the elders of the church to lays hands on the sick. In two separate places the Bible emphasizes that the ministry laid hands on people and only then did they receive the Holy Ghost and prophesied (Acts 8:17, Acts 19:6). When Ananias found Saul who had been blinded by the Lord on the road to Damascus he laid his hands on him that he might receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:17). Impartation and transference through the laying on of hands is carried from the OT to the NT. The 5 Types of Sacrifice Leviticus 1-7 1. The Whole Burnt Offering – Chapter 1, consumed by fire. 2. The Cereal Offering – Chapter 2, involving exclusively grains. 3. The Peace Offering – Chapter 3, perhaps a covenant meal. 4. The Sin Offering – Chapters 4 – 5:13, a sacrifice of repentance for sins. 5 The Guilt Offering – Chapters 5:14 – 6:7, also a sacrifice of repentance for sins, but additionally underscoring the need for restitution; therefore, a special kind of sin offering. The first three offerings are freewill offerings that are required but they must come from the overflow of the heart. The Sin & the Guilt offerings are the only two offerings that result in the forgiveness of sins and they are mandatory. Consistently in Scripture the Sin Offering is offered to God before the other offerings. The point is that sin must be dealt with before anything else. All other offerings and worship is meaningless until sin has been dealt with before God. To talk about consecration and fellowship with God while ignoring sin is impossible and not permissible. Leviticus points out over and over again that a worshipper must never come near to God empty handed.