First off, I’m thrilled that Sam read the suggested verses last time. As a reward he received a little lesson on fair play. And, in case you are wondering how that fits in to the categories I gave last time – ceremonial, moral, and civil – I think dirty fighting as described in Deuteronomy 25:11-12 is in the moral category. Therefore this law should still apply (in my opinion).
However, while the three ways to categorize is helpful in some ways, as I said in the last post there are some problems with it, so how do we understand the Old Testament laws? In this post I’m going to look at some passages in the New Testament that deal with understanding the law.
For dinner this evening we are having ham. There are many tasty things that one can do with a pig. However, as you probably know, eating a pig is forbidden in Jewish law (Leviticus 11:7). Simon Peter was not only a disciple of Jesus, but also a devout Jew, so when we read the account given in Acts 10 of Peter’s vision, it is of no surprise that Peter is shocked. He is informed by God that the dietary restrictions have been lifted. In fact it takes three times of the same vision and voice of God to get Peter to consider this, and then that’s even followed by a divine appointment with a Gentile.
Notice something interesting and important here. The story of the dietary restrictions being lifted is interwoven with the story of Peter accepting the Gentile believers. The lesson that Peter takes from all of this is that God shows no partiality in regards to which culture someone comes from if they are following him (Acts 10:34). There are a few things to note here. First, the law, at least in some cases is now understood in a radically different way. My ham dinner in and of itself is not sinful. Second, it seems that the implications of the law can be more complex than one might first expect. In this example, dietary laws are connected with table fellowship, which dictates who you can hang out with and who is acceptable in the sight of God. Finally, the turning point in history as to the interpretation of the Law as far as Christians are concerned is found in the person of Jesus Christ. It is to Jesus we will now turn. Continue reading “Livin Leviticus Loca part 2”