It’s controversial and often confusing, but we’re getting in it: the book of Leviticus. It’s full of laws, (up to 613 according to Jewish Rabbis) regulations and religious language that seems outdated or is it?
The fact that Christians no longer follow many of the obscure laws God gave to Israel at the time of Moses is a regular point of confusion and contention for non-Christians. Commands not to eat certain types of meat (Leviticus 11:7-12), tattoo your body (Lev 19:28), trim your hair or beard (Lev 19:27), or wear clothing made of mixed fabrics (Lev 19:19) are prime examples. Why do Christians not follow these laws?
Misinformed unbelievers often pull these little-known verses out of context in an attempt to smear Christianity. They present these verses as “evidence” that Christians are hypocrites, picking and choosing what Scriptures they want to follow or ignore.
In reality, we know these faulty arguments are based entirely on Scripture that’s misinterpreted and/or pulled out of context. The writings of any author can be misconstrued if a few sentences are plucked from their books without reading the rest, but many skeptics ignore this obvious detail.
Unfortunately, Christians are not always prepared to respond to questions about the Old Testament laws – it’s a deep and somewhat confusing subject.
If Christians say they’re not required to follow ALL the Old Testament laws, is this an inconsistency in Christianity or the Bible?
No! The Bible is God’s inerrant Word to us. However, Scripture is not simply a list of black-and-white commands. The Bible records and recounts hundreds of years of history. We don’t just open the Bible to a random page in the Old Testament, point to a verse, and conclude that it’s a directive for life as a Christian today. Scripture must always be interpreted properly and put into its correct context — and the Bible clearly teaches that some of God’s laws for modern-day believers changed with the finished work of Christ. Let’s unpack this.
3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 18:3-4 (NIV)
We see that one purpose of the Law is the help the people live and be different than the worldly cultures around them. “As they do in Egypt…as they do in Canaan… Do NOT follow their practices” As Christians, we too are “called out” of the world. The word church or “ecclesia” means “called out ones.
“You must obey my laws” It sounds like we need to obey the laws God gives right?
But what about when Jesus says that he fulfills the Law?
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17 (NIV)
When we observe Communion or the Lord’s Supper we acknowledge the Old Covenant and Law are fulfilled by Jesus in a New Covenant, in His blood.
28 for this is My blood of the [new and better] covenant, which [ratifies the agreement and] is being poured out for many [as a substitutionary atonement] for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28 Amplified Bible
- The Law is Fulfilled in Christ
Are ALL the laws fulfilled or some of them?
Why do Christians pick and choose which laws to follow in Leviticus? How can someone wholeheartedly affirm one passage that says declares one sin an abomination and then flat out ignore another that forbids eating shellfish?
One of the misconceptions in understanding how to read the Bible is that people often simply say, “I read the Bible literally.” That’s not true, even by the people who claim it. Most of the people who might say something like that actually don’t literally believe that the poetic language of Psalms should be taken literally. Or when Jesus claims “I am the gate,” believes that Jesus is literally a fence that opens and closes.
A better description for the proper way to read the Bible is: read the Bible as it was literally intended to be read. This means that some books are intended to be read as history, others are intended to be read as poetry, others as apocalyptic and so on. When we read the bible we have to consider, who wrote the book and what was the author’s intention behind what we read.
So how does this translate to the book of Leviticus?
The book of Leviticus is a book full of laws. And as we read the book of Leviticus it is important to understand how we should understand the book we are reading. Because the book is full of so many laws we have to consider, should we be following these laws? And if not, why don’t we follow them?
When you read the book of Leviticus you cannot automatically assume that every law you read still applies today.
But at the same time you cannot automatically ignore every law that is found in the book of Leviticus.
You have to discern, is this a law that was for a particular time and place or was it timeless?
The 3 Types of Laws in Leviticus
1) CEREMONIAL
The ceremonial law was given to the nation of Israel for a particular purpose. Ceremonial Laws dealt with the Sacrificial System at the Tabernacle and later the Temple. If you see words like, “blood, altar, lambs, goats, doves, grain offerings, burning, fat, priests and garments.” Also, these laws were given to the nation of Israel for the purpose of separating them from their Gentile neighbors.
As you read about laws like dietary regulations (don’t eat catfish, shell fish, pork, etc.) and other regulations of cleanliness. These laws are not meant for all people or all times.
More importantly, Christ fulfilled Ceremonial and Sacrificial Laws.
Here’s some examples of Ceremonial Law
27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. Leviticus 19:27 (NKJV)
2 ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth…will be *ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. Leviticus 12:2 (NIV)
*The words, “ceremonial, sacrifice, altar, blood, clean and priest” are all clues that these are Ceremonial Laws.
Here’s some laws that we really care about, Food Laws:
7 And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. (Back then, Pigs carried parasites and worms, there was no FDA – there was only GOD)
9 “‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. … 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you. Leviticus 11:7-12 (NIV)
Thankfully the New Testament addresses this for us:
19 For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) Mark 7:19 (NIV)
3 (False Teachers) They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:3-5 (NIV)
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Colossians 2:16-17 (NIV)
2) CIVIL
The civil laws, like the ceremonial laws, were given to the nation of Israel in their particular culture. The civil laws were the laws given to the nation of Israel for managing the civil affairs of the people. It gave laws that suggested how to run business, punishment for crimes, such as the death penalty and even the treatment of servants. These laws do not apply to us in our culture.
Christ fulfilled Ceremonial Laws, Governments carry out and legislate Civil laws, and Moral laws such as the Ten Commandments are reinforced in the New Testament.
3) MORAL
The moral law is unlike the other 2 types in that the moral law is not to a particular culture or for a particular time period. The moral law can also be described as the natural law. This isn’t because it is natural to obey the law, but because it is the way God created the natural world to function.
The moral law is timeless. It exists before, during, and after the culture in which it was given.
For example, murder. When did murder become a sin? When Cain killed Abel, there was no commandment against murder. But it was still wrong.
Why? How can something be a law without having been given as a law? Murder, I would suggest, is a part of the moral law. It existed even before the giving of the ten commandments and is still important in our day and age.
This is why we often place such high importance on the Ten Commandments as Christians. It’s not because the list of 10 is more important because it’s from the book of Exodus instead of Leviticus. It’s simply because it is the best summary of the moral law. These are laws that are timeless and that we should hold dearly.
Example:
Sexual Sin:
22 “‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. Leviticus 18:22 (NIV)
Sexual Sins are discussed in the New Testament and all the New Testament writers hold that Christians must not participate in Sexual Sin. These laws are upheld in the New Testament.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:26-32 (NIV)
9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV)
Beautiful! We were these things, but in Christ we are not and have been forgiven!
With laws in Leviticus, we must consider what kind of law is this? Is the law mentioned referred to or taught in the New Testament. The New Testament further teaches and upholds the Moral Laws
Also, what is the purpose of the law?
- The Law Should Lead us to Christ
24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:24 (NIV)
The purpose of the Law was to point us to Christ. Galatians 3:24 says, “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (NKJV). No one can perfectly obey all the commandments, no matter how many or few there are (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23). In fact, no one can even perfectly obey the Ten Commandments. The Law makes our sinfulness evident (Romans 7:7). God gave the Law to define sin and demonstrate our need for a Savior. Jesus is the only one who has perfectly obeyed the Law. Through His life, death, and resurrection, He fulfilled all of God’s righteous commands (Matthew 5:17–18).
- The Law is Lived by the Power of Christ
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. … 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:4 (NIV)
Christ helps us live morally as we have the Holy Spirit in our lives! We have Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness..
Just as the 10 Commandments summarize the Moral Law, Jesus summarizes all the Law into two parts!
37‘Love the Lord… 39Love your neighbor…40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)
The purpose of the Mosaic Law raises these questions: “Are you trusting in yourself to keep all the Ten Commandments or the Great Commandment of Jesus all the time (which you can’t do)?” OR “Have you made the choice to accept Jesus as your Savior, realizing that He has fulfilled all the commandments all the time for you, even paying your penalty for breaking them?” The choice is yours.
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The overwhelming message of Leviticus is the holiness of God— The word Holy is found over 150 times in Leviticus! “You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (19:2).
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