Worship Under the Law

Transcript

GRS 53
5/22/1988
Worship Under the Law
Deuteronomy 12-14
Gil Rugh


What we have in the Book of Deuteronomy is preparations for the children of Israel to go into the land of Canaan, the land that God has promised them. In Chapters 5 through 11 Moses gave an extended discourse covering the broad principles or overview of what God required of his people. Basically he demanded of them their love manifested in obedience to him. Now as we come to Chapter 12 and Chapters 12 through 26, so very extensive portion. We’ll go into the details of the law of God.

Chapters 5 through 11 gave us the general broad overview or broad sweep. Now Chapters 12 to 26 are going to take us into the details of these laws. Some of these laws will be new; some will be a repeat of what God had previously given to the nation Israel. Remember Chapter 11 drew to a close on that call to Israel to make a decision verse 26 "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God.

Now, that’s the decision before Israel, obey and experience blessing; disobey and experience the curse. And right down today, some thirty-five hundred years after Moses we know the decision Israel made because they are living under the curse, they are not enjoying the blessing because of the rebellion against God. Chapter 12 is going to focus on the place of Israel’s worship and the first verse of this Chapter is an introduction to this entire section; Chapters 12 through 26.

"These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the Lord the God of your fathers has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth." So these commandments are given with a view to the possession of the Promised Land and they are given so that Israel can be careful to observe them. The point in giving the word of God is so the people of God can be obedient to the word of God.

What these laws will do and sometimes as you read through a section like this it can seem tedious, but God is giving laws that will help Israel to live every area of their lives in submissiveness to God. They are to be a people that is holy to him and these laws will give them guidelines in living in submissiveness to him. So I mentioned Chapter 12 is concerned with the location of Israel’s worship when they enter the land.

God clearly instructs them that they are to worship him only at the place that he appoints for worship. This will be in contrast to the Canaanites. They scattered their worship sites on every high hills. Israel is to be different. Rather than Israel choosing where to worship God, God will choose for Israel where worship is to take place and worship will only be acceptable as it is offered according to his instructions. So as Israel comes into the land verses 2 and 3 they are to destroy all the places and all the objects of worship erected and used by the Canaanites.

"You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains, on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn their Asherim with fire. You shall cut down the engraved images of their gods you shall obliterate their name from that place." So there is to be a total isolation of all the pagan places of worship and all of the items associated with pagan worship.

This would do two things. Number one, it would demonstrate God’s attitude and thus his people’s attitude toward Pagan worship. It was totally unacceptable, it had to be destroyed and secondly it would be a preventive measure for Israel to keep them from adopting some of these practices. If they don’t, totally in isolate that other worship, there will be a tendency to one who absorb part of it into their own practices. And the future history of Israel revealed that, that’s exactly what they did. Rather than isolating and obliterating all the worship of Canaan, they absorbed son of the Canaanite worship into their own worship and brought judgment on themselves.

Verse 4 "You shall not act like this toward the Lord your God. Act like this from the standpoint f worshipping him in every place. On the high mountains, on the hills, under every green tree as verse 2 said. "You shall not act like this toward the Lord your God, but you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God shall choose from all your tribes to establish his name there for his dwelling, and there you shall come."

So God would select the place that he would be worshiped and that’s the only place that was to be a center of worship for them. That’s where they offerings and so on are to be brought. That was interesting in verse 7. Therefore also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you." There was to be rejoicing in the Lord’s presence as they came to worship him, that’s repeated down in verse 12 "You shall rejoice before the Lord your God.”

Again, down at the end of verse 18 and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all your undertakings. So it was God’s intention that Israel come and worship according to his instructions but there be joy and happiness in this privilege offered to them to worship God and give thanks to God for his great blessings bestowed upon them.

There’s couple of reminders in this Chapter, down in verse 16 "Only you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water" and then up in verse 23, “Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life and you shall not eat the life with the flesh." Whether an animal was slaughtered for sacrifice or slaughtered for food, apart from sacrifice, the blood was not to be consumed in any case. Remember the blood is marked out as symbolizing the life. The life is in the blood and the life belongs to God alone.

So the fact that the blood symbolizes life that God has power over life Israel must avoid the consuming of the blood. It’s also true that the blood was the picture of redemption; blood would be the vehicle that bring about redemption, picturing death. Back in Leviticus 17 may be you want to turn there quickly. Leviticus Chapter 17 verse 11 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.'

Down in verse 14 of Leviticus 17 "For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, 'You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.'" So the blood is identified with the life. The life belongs to God; the life is to be used for sacrifice and redemption. And there is no power among humanity over life. My understanding is that the picture of the blood throughout the Old Testament, even coming into the New is associated with life and with death. And the shedding of blood is a picture of death because when the blood is shed death takes place. And without the shedding of blood there is no remission.

Back in Chapter 12 of Deuteronomy verses 29 to 32, Chapter closes by again reminding Israel of the importance of avoiding all association and all involvement with false worship. I think one of the reasons we have difficulty today as believers in implementing and carrying out the clear instructions of God in the New Testament is we have a rather week background in the Old Testament. We’ll see some of this in a little bit but the point here is that Israel can have no involvement and no association of any kind with false worship and false religion. God firmly and fastly draws the line.

He warns them in verse 30 beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, the pagan worship. After they are destroyed before you, that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods that I also may do likewise?' God says be careful about that isn’t it interesting that they would destroy the Canaanites but then wondering how did the Canaanites worship, maybe we can learn something from them and utilize it in our worship. God strongly warns them against that.

Verse 31 "You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates, they have done for their God's. The worst kind of sin are done in the context of their worship even offering children as sacrifice for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their God. One characteristic of all false worship it is degrading, now it doesn’t look that way necessarily at the beginning. Israel did not get involved with this kind of pagan worship because they recognized upfront the degradation that it would it bring but false worship is always degrading.

Israel failed to heed the warning. In the eighth century BC the Northern kingdom will go into captivity under the curse of God why, they failed to heed the warning of verse 31 and you know what, the culmination of Israel’s absorbing this false worship into their practices was Israel also practiced child sacrifice. Amazing that the people of God were reduced to the same degradation of the people of Canaan that God had to destroy because of their degradation.

Turn over to Second Kings. Second Kings Chapter 17 God had warned Israel but Israel wouldn’t listen. Verse 7 of Second Kings 17 now all these came about, the captivity because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, the one who had brought them up out of Egypt, they had feared other God's. Verse 8 they walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel.

Verse 9 the sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right against the Lord their God. Verse 10 they set for themselves sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill, under every green tree. What did we just read God commanding them to do before he took them into the land smash and obliterate all of these things and worship me only at my appointed place. Seems like simple instruction doesn’t it? Here Israel is being removed from the land the Northern ten tribes why, because they didn’t keep that simple clear commandment.

Verse 12 they served idols concerning which the Lord had said to them you shall not do this thing. Verse 13 the Lord waned Israel and Judah through his prophets warned them to turn and keep his command. Verse 14 however they did not listen but stiffened their neck like their fathers who did not believe in the Lord they rejected his statutes, his covenant which he had made with their fathers. His warnings which he had warned them, they followed vanity and became vain. You become like what you worship.

When after the nations which surrounded them concerning which the Lord had commanded them not to do like them. Isn’t it amazing, God calls his people to be separate, to come apart and be like him but for some reason, the reason being our fallen sin nature we are attracted and drawn back to that which we’ve been redeemed from. We just don’t like to be different in this world and to be of people who are holy; you have to be different because the key idea in holiness is separation. We are holy because we are separated by God from sin and the people of God constantly fight against that called the holiness. Israel did it, and you and I do it as well.

We constantly want to see how much like the world we can be so we can fit in rather than seeing how much unlike the world we can be and like our heavenly father. Now come down to verse 17 they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, there it culminates the degradation of the pagan worship culminated even Israel was practicing child sacrifice and now has to bring in judgment on his people and remove them from the land just like he removed the Canaanites.

See being a child of God does not mean now you are free to sin. It means now you are free to live in holiness but Israel thought now we are the children of God that we could go and practice other things. Now for us as believers, obviously there is a change. God has not called us to worship at Jerusalem. There is not a single place appointed for worship, in fact you come to the New Testament we find that worship centers within the individual believer.

Turn over to the New Testament John Chapter 4 and tell me you are going to do a study of worship you usually begin in the Fourth Chapter of John’s Gospel. John Chapter 4 Jesus speaking to the women at the well in verse 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. See what he’s telling the Samaritans wanted to worship in their holy mountain, the Jews said no, you worship at Jerusalem. Jesus is saying there’s going to come a time when not even Jerusalem will be the focal point, although the Jews are right Jerusalem is the place of worship.

Verse 22 "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, salvation is from the Jews. So he doesn’t skirt the question he says the time is coming when the issue won’t be the place of worship but for right now yes, the Jews are right salvation is of the Jews and if you are going to worship the true and living God you would have to do it according to Jewish law and that would be to worship at Jerusalem. But the time is coming when that too will be done away with.

The hour is coming, now is when the true worshipers shall worship the father in spirit and truth for such people the Father seeks to be his worshipers. God is a spirit; those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. So it was always true, even for Israel worship was worship of heart. Remember circumcise your heart, then out of the heart of commitment and dedication to God you worship him according to his instructions. Now worship is not centered at the physical place, it centers within each individual believer.

Second Corinthians Chapter 6 in verse 16 tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote about that in First Corinthians and then in Second Corinthians 6 note what he says in verse 16 "What agreement has the temple of God with idols for we are the temple of the living God." We believers are the temple of the living God. That’s why immorality is so abhorrent to Paul as he writes to the Corinthians. We are the temple of the living God, right here this body; this is where the Holy Spirit dwells now. God himself dwells where, not in a temple made with hands but in each physical body of each believer.

So that’s where worship is centered today. Not in this building, that’s the fallacy of much of what is written about worship today. They want to talk about the Sunday service but the believer’s life is to be a life of worship. Now we come together at appointed times to worship together and there is certain benefit and blessing in that but that is an out flowing of the worship that is to take place continually in my body. I need to remember that as a believer. We sometimes think this building is sacred and things we wouldn’t think of doing in this building we go out and do in some place.

You have to remember the sacredness is your body, that’s where the spirit of God dwells. What makes this building significant right now is there are believers in it who are indwelled by the spirit of God. And when the believers are gone, this is another building just like any other building in the city, no more sacred because God does not dwell in physical buildings. In the Old Testament he dwelled in the tabernacle, he dwelled in the temple, that’s where his presence was manifested today; it’s in the body of the believer. So the call is to holiness.

He goes on in this section the call for that separation. I would dwell in them still in Second Corinthians 6 walk among them I will be their God, they shall be my people. "Therefore come out from their midst and be separate "says the Lord. You see the call to his people, now Paul writes to the Corinthians it’s the same call separation, "Do not touch what is unclean and I will welcome you, I will be a father to you, you shall be sons and daughters to me" says the Lord almighty. He requires separation, holiness of his people. Nothing has changed, that’s why studying the Old Testament has been such a help to me. Looking and seeing the demands that God puts on his people then to come and see nothing has changed.

All the implementation is different, we are not under law with the specific commandments that are given but the general over all purpose is the same that God have a people, has a people that are separated from sin, from the world and all its defilement to walk honoring to him. And we have the same struggle with what Israel did. I want to be as much like the world as I can because I want to fit in here and that’s what Israel was doing. We look at them and say how could they do that? Then we look at ourselves and say very simply, we don’t want to be different, we don’t want to be separate. We look at our kids what’s the last thing that young person wants to be different.

You know they learn that from their parents as well. That’s the last thing we want also. You go to your job, you don’t necessarily want to be marked out that way, but God calls us to separation. Come back to Deuteronomy. We come to Chapter 13 and the theme continues of false worship. The contrast in Chapter 12 with the appointed place of worship, all other places of worship and objects of worship are rejected.

Chapter 13 deals with those who would attempt to lead Israel away from the true worship of the living God. False prophets are usually what I think, when I think of Chapter 13 because of the first section dealing with false prophets but it also deal with friends and relatives who attempt to lead Israel away from their worship of God. It will deal with the whole town that apostasies from God.

Chapter opens up "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. Point is made here, if a person come now and he says I am a prophet of God or I had a dread or a vision from God. Here’s what’s going to happen, and what he says will happen, happens yet he encourages you to worship contrary to what God has revealed to worship something or someone else than the living God, then you must execute that person.

You shall not listen to that dreamer of dreams verse 5 that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death. Now there are at least three reasons given why it’s necessary to execute this guilty person this a capital offence, capital punishment meted out for those who would be false prophets who would attempt to turn the people away from the truth that God has revealed concerning himself and the worship that comes that truth. First, the person has committed a crime worthy of death. Verse 5 that prophet or that dreamer of dream shall put to death because he’s counseled rebellion.

Down in verse 10 "You shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the Lord your God. Now the first reason given why you execute a false prophet is he deserves it. Because attempting to lead the people of God away from God is a crime worthy of death. Secondly, it will ensure the purity of the nation. Look at the last part of verse 5 so you shall purge the evil from among you. It’s a way that God has to remove the evil influence from Israel to guarantee that it will remain pure nation. If they don’t remove the false prophet, his influence will spread and more and more people will get drawn into it.

And the third reason given, for executing false prophet is it will be a deterrent to others who might be tempted to do the same thing down in verse 11. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid and will never again do such a wicked thing among you. A person will give a second thought to encouraging people to turn away from the living God if they realize their life is on the line. Now as I mentioned the first five verses are going to deal with the false prophet particularly.

The dreamer of dreams or the prophets who comes into Israel, when we read those opening verses and its’ a reminder, miracles are not a sufficient or adequate test of truth. The standard of truth always has to be the word of God. So if a person comes and gives a dramatic prophesy we stand up here and say that at 10:15 tonight a tremendous tornado will suddenly dip out of clear sky and consume half of the city, and it happen exactly as it said but he encourages to worship contrary to the word of God, the Bible says he’s a false prophet and Israel, he had to be executed why, the standard is not whether he could miracles or not.

Satan is a supernatural being. He has supernatural power that can be used to deceive people. Now we need to keep our minds fixed on this because we live in a day when people are taken up with things like miracles. We hear lot about astrology today, and you know whether astrology comes up with some correct things or not, sometimes its right about the future is irrelevant to me as a believer because it leads you away from the living God that’s the standard, the standard is always the truth of God. Experience of any kind is never a trustworthy God not even supernatural experience why, because Satan has a supernatural being, the Bible never indicates or hints that Satan does not have the power to do supernatural things.

I did say when the magicians in Egypt, remember we studied that, through down their staves and they turned into snakes, that was pretty impressive. Now however they did it, what ever happened, that would have been impressive but they weren’t genuine. Look over in the New Testament Second Corinthians Chapter 11 Paul gives us a reminder in verse 13 up in verse 3 he said I am afraid lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

Down to verse 13, for such man are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ and no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their deeds. Now here is the apostle

Now here is the Apostle Paul and the Corinthians are torn between following Paul and his teaching and following false apostles who are teaching the doctrine of Satan. These are believers that are torn between who should be their teacher and who should be their leader. I said Israel’s being reminded off the deceitfulness of false prophets and false leaders. Matthew Chapter 24, Matthew 24 we are in a section that deals with the coming year tribulation that is yet to come up on the earth but just note what Christ says in Matthew 24 and verse 24 that will characterize that period of time.

Verse 24 "For false Christ’s and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders so as to mislead if possible, even the elect. What is going to be keep people from being led astray in the seven year tribulation the same thing that keeps you and I from being led astray, the same thing that kept Israel being led astray, the truth of the word of God. That is the only trustworthy standard and measure that we have.

We’ve seen some Christian ministries, Christian using the term rather broadly come in hard times these days immorality wrack them and so on. Now here a lot of talk about there ought to been accountability, there ought to been this and there ought to been that its rubbish. As far as I am concerned it has nothing to do with anything. More accountability wouldn’t have done anything.

I think its Christians chasing after air, you know why, the only thing that would have been enabled the discernment to take place and a correction to take place were believers who were going to sift carefully that ministry through the word of God. And with clear that it wasn’t consistent with the word of God from the beginning. So the fact now we say there ought to been accountability. It’s foolishness.

If Christians had evaluated those ministries carefully in light of the word, they wouldn’t been involved with them in the first place and I am not saying good Christians can’t get involved in immorality, what I am saying the kind of ministries we’re talking about didn’t stand the test of theological evaluation. You know what Christians did, they evaluated all on the basis of their experience. When they watched them they got a warm feeling in their heart and so they’re supported. Then say what happened, isn’t that terrible, all the Lord’s money gone down the drain, whoever said that the money you gave to organizations and ministries that are not theologically correct is money the Lord counts as given to him? What I am concerned is money given to Satan, what’s God say to Israel, your good intentions count not in your life.

Let me read you from Martin Luther, yeah I like Martin Luther. It is his will that we adhere to the word of God with such devotion that we are not moved by persons or science however learned or holy they may be. One must rest holy on the word alone and shut out everything from eyes and senses because when the word is lost, God is lost. It is better to lose friends, brothers, saints, mighty ones an everything than to lose God. And that’s where we coming to back in Deuteronomy 13 being willing to lose your friends and your family over the word of God.

Come back to Deuteronomy 13. It’s interesting how really there’s nothing new under the sun as Solomon tells us and the things that Israel had to grapple with and discern the church today is called the grapple with and discern on the same basis what God has reveled in his word. Verse 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

God would allow these false prophets, these dreamers to come into Israel why, it would be a test of their devotion to God. Do you love me with all your heart and with all your soul and the evidence of that kind of whole hearted love is a willingness to hold on to the word in the face of startling and amazing experiences. It’s a test from the Lord, Israel will fail the test and I did say many believers are failing the test today also. The Lord is testing you, reveals our true character. We see something of Satan being permitted to test in the opening chapters of the Book of Job where God gives him permission to go and what, sift Job. Happened with Peter, Christ said Satan has desire to sift you like whip but I prayed for you.

We need to be careful why do these things come in, oh they are good sincere people, oh look at the good they seem to be doing. And you have to come back to say wait a minute do I love the Lord with all my heart then I have to evaluate it in light of the word. Concerning false prophet Israel had three responsibilities. Note them verse 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, turn off the television, don’t listen to it. Some believers get into trouble because they start listening to things they shouldn’t pretty soon they are thinking well, maybe there is something to this. You know it happens that way. How do you get into physical adultery? You have a contact you say well, maybe I get carried on pretty soon what, one thing leads to another.

How did you get to spiritual adultery? Well, pretty soon you listen, get drawn along one thing leads to another first step very simple don’t listen to him. Second step verse 4, you shall follow the Lord your God, and keep my eyes on him. That’s elaborated him fear him, keep his commandments, listen to his voice, serve him, cling to him and totally absorbed with him as revealed in his word. And verse 5 put that prophet or that dreamer of dreams to death, execute him.

Now obviously we can’t do everything that Israel did, we’d probably get in trouble today. We’ll talk about that in a moment. Israel is a theocracy lived under the God as their kind and that’s why we cannot carry out every individual command nor are we called to do so. But we see certain things that do carry over in the principle that God has establishing. But look at verses 6 to 11, these deals with enticement by friends and relatives.

So what if it’s a friend or a relative, even a close relative, your husband, your wife your children who attempt to lure you away from worshiping the living God. Well, if your brother, your mother’s son, your son or daughter, the wife you cherish, your friend do as your own soul entice you secretly saying let us go and serve other God's. Verse 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him and your eye shall not pity him nor shall you spare or conceal him.

Same principle that Jesus used isn’t it, Matthew 10:37 if anyone loves father or mother, brother or sister more than e he is not worthy of me. And if my closest and dearest friend on earth would turn me away from the living God I must abandon him. In Israel I must turn him in and have him executed why, because my devotion to God supersedes everything else. There are no extenuating circumstances. He’s too dear a friend, I couldn’t do that no.

The way verse 6 puts it your son your daughter, the wife you cherish, your friend is as your own soul. I mean there could be no one closer is like yourself but if tempted, turn you away from God you shall not yield to him ,nor listen to him, nor pity him verse 9 you shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put into death and afterwards all the hands of the people.

You shall stone him to death because he sought to seduce you from the Lord. That’s strong language; would have been no easier than Israel than would be today. I wouldn’t like to be in that position where your son or daughter counsels you to turn away from the living God and you were obligated to go turn him in and be the first one to throw the stone in execution it’d be very difficult, very difficult would be the test.

Remember what he says they come to test you at the end of verse 3 to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul but Lord you would call someone to lead the way and throwing the first stone in executing their own son, their own daughter, their own wife, their own closest friend. I must love him more than anything or anyone else. It’s a test that would truly test my devotion, love for him.

I fear we fail the test today. You ought to note here something happens. Sin brings terrible consequences for the sinner; it puts tremendous pressure on those around the sinner that’s what we’ve been talking about. Sin always makes life difficult for those closest. If you are going to be biblical, your close friend’s sin brings great suffering into your life personally. You think it would have been easy to do this Israel? They were human beings just like you and I, had feelings just like you and I, had feelings just like you and I. Sin makes it difficult for everyone.

The person who made the sin known took the initiative and the punishment you’ll note that. You shall surely kill him verse 9. Your hands shall be first against him to put him to death. He had to lead the way, he had to cast the first stone, but the whole nation then joined in the execution. We’ll talk about that in a moment as well.

The last section verses 12 to 18 deals with an apostate town, what about a city if that turns way from God under the influence of false teachers or false prophets? After examination if you find out its true the entire city and everything in it has to be an isolated. Every person executed and all the possessions are put under the ban, no one is allowed to profit from that town but everything is to be destroyed.

The principle is absolute loyalty to God and separation from everyone who would lead us away from God. That’s the point that we read about in Second Corinthians Chapter 6; that we are not to be entangled, not to be unequally yoked with those of this world but to come out from among them and be separate says the Lord. We are a unique and different people there can be no divided loyalties among his people.

Now as I noted these specific commands in this Chapter are not applicable to us today, they were given to Israel, an earthly nation living as a theocracy under the rule of God. So capital punishment is carried out under his instructions. Believers today are not an earthly nation living as a theocracy we are spread through the nations of the world. So these commands do not apply to us in that sense. But you know we see a principle taken from these and carried over into the New Testament such as we’ve been talking about the complete devotion of the people of God to their God in their holiness.

We don’t have the authority to carry out execution today but what is the church called to do, church discipline for what, the purity of the body and the punishment offending members. You know what, we practice church discipline and we still have people who grumble and rumble about it why, they just don’t like to do it. Say well, but the Bible says to do it. I know but I don’t like it, well, I could agree with that I don’t like it either but who’s in charge here? Is God’s word going to rule in our lives or our own personal feelings?

The New Testament Mathew Chapter 18 beginning with verse 15, the steps of church discipline are set out. When one is sin you confront him then two or three then the church and then he’s cut off. He’s removed we don’t have the power to execute him but we remove ourselves from him and first Corinthians Chapter 5 tells us that sometimes God takes his life executes that person. Some among the Corinthian church had become week, some sick and some had died because of sin.

So you see sin is no more acceptable for the church today than it was for Israel. We think that somehow Israel was under a stricter call to holiness than the church is today. So we have in First John Chapter 5 there’s a sin unto death, I do not say you should pray for that sin. Sometimes God’s going to take the life. We as believers have a difficult time especially doesn’t it come when it’s a close friend or someone dear to us that we have to take that stand against, say I don’t know if I can do it. It’s a test of the devotion of my heart. My friends can’t come before the word of God and my love for the God of the word. I must take a stand even against those closest to me.

The reluctance of Israel to do it sacrificed the purity of the nation. The reluctance of the church of Jesus Christ to do it has sacrificed the purity of the church today. So you can see the same results of an unwillingness to carry out the instructions of God. Chapter 14 of Deuteronomy, here’s some instructions regarding food and tithes.

Again it’s an area that does not seen directly applicable to us but let’s look through and see what God is saying. The Chapter opens up you are the sons of your God so you shall not cut yourselves, shave your head for the sake of the dead for your are a holy people to the Lord your God, the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The unique relationship that Israel occupies with God determines how they must live. You are the sons of your God, you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord has chosen you to be his own possession therefore you must be different.

There’s no middle ground, as Israel tried to have that synthesis they lost their identity and came under the curse of God. Israel to the time of their captivity still continued with some of the elements of worship that God had commanded. The problem is they also mixed it in with other things, totally unacceptable. You are the sons of God, you are a holy people therefore you must be separated from the pagans and the pagan practices around you. The cutting your head, the shaving the head for the dead were expressions of grief among the pagans. Israel could not be identified in that way. So they are forbidden to go through these rituals and actions that marked them off as mourning for the dead as the pagans did.

Does not say there can be no sorrow for the dead here, just a particular practices that were characteristics of the pagan are forbidden them. What you are determines what you do. You are a holy people and holy people are set apart together so when I recognize that, that becomes the controlling pattern for my life I am a person called to holiness therefore I live this way. Verses 3 to 21 we’re not going to go through the details of this, our regulations regarding foods. Bulk of this section deals with clean and unclean animals we’ve seen this previously in the penatuk.

Certain animals Israel was forbidden to eat and certain animals Israel was permitted to eat. Now there had been numerous explanations given for these laws of clean and unclean animals and someone whom have been just to review for you, some say it was for health reasons and there have been books written on this that if we would follow the injunctions even though we’re not under law of what God said for his people he gave these requirements because it was good for their health, in other words don’t eat pork why, well you can get terribly sick eating pork what trichinosis or something. So that wouldn’t be good.

Well, I think there’s some pretty serious weaknesses in this view. The first and to me the one that shatters it is in the New Testament all foods are declared clean. Now Mark Chapter 14, Mark Chapter 7 beginning with verse 14 and then in over in Acts Chapter 10, remember God let to sheet down in the vision for Peter and had clean and unclean animals in it. And the unclean animals because I can’t eat those I never eat anything unclean what God's say, what I have declared clean don’t you call unclean. All of a sudden God doesn’t care about Peter’s health I mean it makes no sense does it?

He didn’t want his people in the Old Testament to get sick but now he commands him to eat foods that wouldn’t be good for them. Obviously that’s not the reason. And besides it’s hard to follow that through. Some animals called clean don’t seem to be any better for your health than some of the unclean animals if your are just looking on an health basis. And there’s no indication that this was the reason in fact it would seem to otherwise when the barrier is broken down when you come to the New Testament.

Some say these were the animals used in pagan worship but there doesn’t seem to be any support for that either. I think the simplest explanation and the one that would fit Scripture is God wanted to mark Israel off as unique in every area of their life and one thing that takes up a lot of our time that we do several times throughout the day is we eat. So here Israel was constantly reminded that they were different, they were set apart to God. Why can’t you eat that food, I am set apart to God. Why don’t you eat this food, you’re set apart to God. Part of being an earthly nation marked out in these particular physical ways.

As far as I can tell it’s simply an arbitrary decision by God to help clarify in a picture way remember the Old Testaments the picture book for us that certain things are okay and certain things are not okay. And what makes it right or wrong God’s word, God says this is a no, no; that’s a no, no. Just like you tell your children no, why not, because I said so. Now some time in the future there may be an explanation but the principle established is you are in the position of authority and its wrong because you are set as wrong at this point. And that’s the way it is with God for the Israel. He never tells them why one is clean and why is unclean he just says I said no and that sets the standard and God is the one who determines what is acceptable and what is not.

Down in verse 22 to 29 there’s instructions concerning tithes and back in Leviticus 27 and Numbers 18we had other information given regarding tithing. It was a constant reminder to Israel that what they had was the gracious provision of God. They didn’t give their tithes to God because God needed it. They gave their tithes to God because they need to do it to be reminded of what all they had was a gracious gift of God and they were returning some back to him.

There’s an interesting point here verse 24 if you are going to travel to the sanctuary when it would be built and the distance is so great you can’t take the animal you could turn it into money and then reconvert it when you got there in verses 24 and 25. And you could just jot down John Chapter 2 this is the only place that this provision is made. And when you get to John Chapter 2 you remember Jesus went into the temple and drove out the money changers because of this provision that people coming from other places and it has gotten developed beyond that to the abuse you had to an approved animal and so on and it became a money making scheme but basically it came out of these two verses that people would have to come and change their money when their got to the temple to make the appropriate offering.

There’s not tithe’s required in the New Testament as far as I can tell is another area where the law demanded tithing. I cannot find tithing required of believers in the New Testament but the principle of giving as an acknowledgment of what God has done for us is drawn in New Testament. First Corinthians Chapter 16 on the first day of the week you set aside is God has prospered didn’t say tithe but you give as God has prospered and what are you doing, you are acknowledging that he has prospered me. He has blessed me and now I am giving to him.

Second Corinthians Chapters 8 and 9 the fullest development of giving in the New Testament. Again there’s no mention of tithing in those chapters but the word grace or a form of the word grace appears more often in Second Corinthians Chapters 8 and 9 talking about money than any other Chapters in the whole Bible. But I take one of the key ways we manifest the work of grace in our lives is in our response, in our giving and it’s based up on what Christ has done for us.

Basic truth through these Chapters, very simple the people of God ought to be wholly to the Lord that’s true for the church today as it was for Israel. The manifestation in what we do and the way we live is not exactly the same but the point in it all is we ought to be a separate people honoring him in the way that we live our lives. It’s important to realize the demand for holiness has not been lowered for the church if anything, it’s been raised.

First Peter Chapter 1 as we close. First Peter in the First Chapter, the Apostle Peter writes beginning in verse 14 of First Peter Chapter 1 as obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance but like the holy one who calls you, note the standard like the holy one who called you be holy yourselves also in all your behavior because it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.

There’s the standard, you are the sons of God; you are a holy people. Are we different? Not that we strange, that we want to dress strange or be strange, but are we really different? Are we willing to live a life of separation from the world and endure the rejection and abuse and humiliation that, that will bring. There are no alternatives to holiness. Holiness is separation from sin unto the holy God who called us.

Let’s pray –