WHERE IS YOUR HEART? Category: Religion and Philosophy Tuesday, January 23, 2007
There are reasons for the laws that were set
in place throughout the scriptures … Even some of the harsh and laws that
appear contradictory had reasons that apply to us today … Over time the
law changes simply because man has changed in his cultural ways and
sometimes the laws appear to contradict themselves … early in the
scriptures the laws laid a basic foundation for hygienic and moral
standards that apply even today … some of the laws have psychological
ramifications if broken consistently … I believe there needs to be a study
on the foundational laws of genesis to find if there is a connection to
our society today …I believe there is a connection …
Before I look for this connection we
must consider what it was that comprised the laws of Moses. As I look at
these it is obvious that the Old Testament laws are broken down into at
least three categories. Ceremonial laws (laws of worship), civil laws
(laws of the land). And Moral laws (laws defining sin against God)
The ceremonial laws were designed to
give people principles that were to be applied to worshipping and serving
a holy God. The principles behind those laws still apply to us today.
The Civil laws separated the Jews
from the gentiles of the day. They were designed to give example to the
gentiles how holy people should live as a matter of testimony. Today this
example of civil law is supposed to be for the non Christian by the
Christian. This is what Jesus referred to when He said give unto Caesar
what is Caesars. As well as Paul's Direction in Romans chapter 13 when we
are told to adhere to the laws of the land because God placed the people
of government in authority over us. (Here we thought we decided by a
voting process, HA!) So these laws apply to us today as well. We need to
be an example to everyone around us that knows not our Savior or we have
failed.
The last area is Moral laws. These
are basically the great Ten Commandments. These laws show us how to live a
holy life. They do not lead us to salvation but they will keep our hearts
pure if we follow them. This is what God cares about the most. Our hearts!
Our society today has become lax.
Especially the Christian culture has wandered away from the most important
things. We look at some of the ordinances of the Old Testament and shrug
them off as obsolete. My friends the ordinances may be obsolete because of
the culture and social circumstances of that day and were never meant to
be permanent but there are no ordinances in the Ten Commandments!
Look at today's society. Ask yourself, is
there much of a difference between the Christian and non-Christian
behavior? As always, God looks to the heart. His laws and ordinances are
put in place for us to protect our own hearts. That is the most important
thing to our mighty Creator. Where is your heart today? |
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