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Today we completed our study of the Statutes relating to the 6th Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill". We are focusing on Leviticus 11, looking at clean and unclean foods.
Here are a few highlights from class today:
Psalm 119:92 “Unless Thy Law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.”
So, if it’s dangerous -
even deadly - to believe the Law of God was nailed to the Cross, what did Paul
mean? Certainly, Paul wasn’t teaching us to do away with the Law, if that
teaching was going to give hell the power to destroy God’s people! The problem
isn’t with Paul’s teachings - the problem is with our understanding of what
Paul taught.
Peter himself said that Paul was a very difficult man to understand. Even in
the time of the Early Christian Church, many were already misinterpreting
Paul’s writings - which Peter warned would bring destruction.
2 Peter 3:15-16 (NCV) “...Our dear brother Paul told you the same thing when he wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes about this in all his letters. Some things in Paul’s letters are hard to understand, and people who are ignorant and weak in faith explain these things falsely... but they are destroying themselves by doing this.”
Of all the
Bible writers, Paul is the most difficult to interpret and the most commonly
misunderstood. This statement is not just my opinion. It is a fact, having been
expressed by the Apostle Peter and preserved within the pages of Scripture
itself. (See 2 Peter 3:15-16, above.)
Twisting the meaning of Paul’s words was a common problem in the Early
Christian Church. And it has not lessened in our time. In fact, the way
Christians commonly misinterpret Paul’s New Testament writings is the single
biggest cause for doctrinal deception today! Here are some examples:
We are Twisting the Teachings of Paul When we Make Them Mean Something
Different than the Rest of the Bible.
What
About Romans 14 – Esteeming Days and Eating?
People believe that Paul
taught it doesn’t matter which day you “esteem” as holy—keep any day you choose
as your Sabbath - They cite Romans 14:5 to support this.
But we are jumping to conclusions if we interpret Romans 14:5 in this way. Paul
never says that we should "unesteem" (make common) a day which God
has esteemed (made holy). What he does say is that man may also esteem a day,
as needed.
In other words, there are times when my personal circumstances warrant having a
day or two of fasting and special prayer. By planning to fast and pray for a
day or two, I am choosing to esteem these days. They don't have to be Sabbaths,
for me to pray and fast effectively at these times.
According to the rest of Scripture, Yahweh wants His people to
remember and keep holy the Days He sanctified. Man may “esteem” days, such as
setting aside a special day for fasting over a needed issue - man but may not
unesteem a day which Yahweh has made holy. (Exodus 20:8-11,
Levitcus 26, Ezekiel 20:12-24, Hebrews 4:8-11, and many more...) Paul never
says to unesteem God’s esteemed holy Days.
Romans 14:5 "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."
So, if esteeming a day is setting the day apart for special worship, fasting or
special prayer (or all of the above) in what context might someone "esteem
every day alike"?
One example of esteeming "every day", which is to set apart oneself
for holy use day-after-day, is the Nazarite Vow. A Nazarite Vow was not
required. This is a good example of how a person would only voluntarily esteem
a day - being fully persuaded in his own mind, as Paul says in Romans 14:5.
During the time of his voluntary vow, a Nazarite would not engage in common
practices (like going to work, etc). This time was specially set apart for
closeness with God and for focusing on the Kingdom!
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