INTRODUCTION:

Well, happy Sabbath once again. Today, we're going to continue our discussion of covenants and calendars and clarity. Last time was part three. And just to give us a reminder of some of the things that we covered --- since it's been a couple of weeks. Last time we discovered and talked about the difference between who was involved in the Old Covenant versus the New Covenant. The descendants of Abraham were the beneficiaries of the Old Covenant. Those who were of the lineage, the DNA of a man named Abraham. While anyone whom the father calls and gives his spirit to, anywhere in this world that God chooses to do that is blessed to be part of the New Covenant. So that was one of the things that we discussed last time. Another is the difference between who are the mediators of covenants --- or the two covenants I should say. Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant --- and he actually was between the people and God. On the other hand, Jesus Christ is high priest, is mediator of the New Covenant. But rather than standing between us and the Father, He sits at the right-hand side of the Father and He is our advocate. He's there. He's there for us as our mediator. So we saw there was a big difference between the two types of mediators last time. We also talked about the detailed difference between the promises of the covenants. The Old Covenant and its promises were basically physical. They included land and prosperity and physical blessings and good health and all of those things are good --- but they're very limited, they're very temporary. Where in contrast, the New Covenant offers better promises that include eternal life and immortal glory in the spiritual family of God. So to sum it up, last time I used a final scripture that I will read here again. I concluded with a scripture in Revelation chapter five and verse nine. It kind of sums up the blessings of being part of the New Covenant. I'll read it again. It says, “And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll.” This is talking to the Lamb Himself, Jesus Christ. “And to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” You see, not just from the descendants of Abraham, but God had called people from all the corners of the earth, from every nationality, every ethnicity, every race, every language. And then verse 10 says, And he has made us kings. And we shall reign on the earth. Not simply control the land between two rivers, the Nile and the Euphrates, but we shall, serving in the family of God, reign on earth. So that's what we covered last time. And again, I want to have a little disclaimer here, to discern the things that I say today. If you're a visitor, or if you're listening to this and you're not here today, if you haven't participated in the other three sermons, it's important to do that, to understand the things that I say today in proper context so that you don't take a soundbite or a statement that I make and take it out of the context for which it is intended.

So today I would like to begin the sermon by asking a question. Are the Old Covenant laws valid for us today? I could retire today if I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say, “Well, it's in the Bible so we should do it. Or it's in the Bible, and I think we should live by it because it's in the word of God.” Is that true? Is that literally true? Well, the answer, the simple answer is that certainly in the Old Covenant there were moral laws that were directly related to the Ten Commandments. And we certainly should follow those commands and obey them. But there were many national laws. There were. There were many ceremonial rituals. There were many blood statutes that God gave to a certain people at a certain time in history that are not applicable to us today. As a matter of fact, some of the commands that God gave them on their journey to the promised land later were modified when they arrived in the promised land. So in the time that they were given, and I think this is important to understand, the Old Covenant laws, and every one of them in the Bible were based on the principle of love for God and trying to teach the people --- again. remember, these were an ancient bronze age people that were not very sophisticated, trying to teach them love for their neighbor, fairness and justice in the way that they dealt with each other. And as we will see, most of them were intended for a carnal physical people who had a national covenant with God. And many of those laws, frankly, don't apply to us today. And we're going to read a number of them. But even those laws, if you dig deep and you look closely, you usually can find a spiritual application. Even the laws that were given to the children of Israel as part of the Old Covenant. So let's take a look at some of the instructions and commands and see where they fit in today.

EXAMPLE 1: An Extension of the Ten Commandments - Leviticus 19:18

Let's begin by going to Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 18. First scripture we'll turn to today, Leviticus chapter 19. Leviticus 19 and verse 18. If you'll turn there with me. Here's an instruction God gave to Moses. Moses relayed to the people. You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Well this is obviously an extension of the Ten Commandments. It’s part of God’s eternal moral law. It’s part of the universal covenant --- to have a relationship with God it’s important to respect His creation. After all, He created man in His own image. Our neighbor. That is very important to God. Jesus reaffirmed it in Matthew chapter 19 and Mark chapter 12 --- and in other places. So it’s an eternal law. It’s an extension of the Ten Commandments. This is an easy one. We certainly believe and understand and know that we should observe this command that’s in the Old Covenant. It’s part of a covenant that existed before the Old Covenant. It’s part of the covenant that is relating to anything that we do with God throughout time. So that was kind of an easy one.

EXAMPLE 2: Sanitation Law to keep human refuse outside camp --- Deuteronomy 23:12-14

Let’s go to Deuteronomy chapter 23 and verse 12. Look at another one. Deuteronomy chapter 23 and verse 12. This is relating to when someone needs to go to the bathroom. Deuteronomy chapter 23 verse 12. “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.”

Well, that's a biblical command. So how should we interpret that? Well, after services today, we have a gift for each and every one of you. The deacons, Mr. Lee, Mr. Graham, Mr. Spura, as you leave the hall, are going to give you one of these to begin using from now on. Now that we have discovered this command, this instruction, and you can begin using this during the week at home. Well, obviously, I'm speaking in jest, but only partly in jest. But I'll tell you why. It is indeed true that bacteria, particularly cholera, and various viruses and fungi and parasites are carried in doo-doo, in that kind of matter. You know, we can chuckle today, but here's the reality. In the 21st century, in the year 2016, in our world, 1.4 million children will die from diseases caused by having contact with fecal matter. Here is a 3,000-plus-year-old law that some cultures in our world still don't get, don't live by, and because of that, people die. This is a law given by God to protect the people who didn't understand the concept of germs and viruses and bacteria and proper sanitation. As I said, some people living in the third world nations today are yet to discover this principle. But we have to understand that God are giving these laws to a Bronze Age people who have no concept of proper sanitation. So you think that today that 7.4 billion people should carry one of these around on their belt every day as they go to work and sit around at home watching TV? Well, of course not. But the reason is that we have modern sanitation systems. We have modern sanitation systems today. That biologically and naturally, we flush out the remnants out of our homes and they go to particular facilities that separate the liquids from the solids. I'm not going to go into great detail about what happens after that. But the point is that following this principle behind this instruction, we have modern sanitation systems today that make sure that people do not die. We have modern sanitation systems today that make sure that people do not die. And this brings out a very important point when we discuss the laws that God gave Israel in the Old Covenant. In the modern Western world, we take sanitation for granted. These were ancient slave people coming out of Egypt. They lived in filth, squalor, disease. Water was scarce. There were times in their journey where there were almost rebellions over the lack of water. They cried out for lack of water. They barely had water to drink, let alone bathe in. So what we need to understand is they didn't live like we live. They were a backward people who had been in slavery for generations. They were a people in which the human race is not advanced enough to understand good sanitation and avoiding body fluids and avoiding diseases in bloods and avoiding all of the things that we just take for granted today. And out of God's great love for them, he gave them laws and principles so that they could live better lives. What is important for us today is not the method using a shovel. It's the principle of not relieving ourselves in an open living area near your fresh food and water. Which was so common at this time. Even in Western civilization, if you've ever read anything about Europe in the Middle Ages, frankly the people lived like pigs. And that's one reason why the bubonic plague and so many diseases ravaged Europe during the Middle Ages. Even some Queens of England, I believe it was Elizabeth I, I hope this isn't too disgusting, but I read that when she died that there was makeup that was a half inch thick, caked on her face. Because she never bathed. Half inch thick makeup from years and years of reapplying makeup every day. So people didn't bathe. People didn't understand what we understand today. So the important principle in this scripture for us to understand is God is saying, transport it away from your living area. This was advanced knowledge for their time. As I mentioned, there are some cultures in the world today that still don't get a 3,500 year old instruction that God gave the ancient Israelites. And if they did, they'd be healthier and they wouldn't die of simple diseases. So that's another example. Let's take a look at yet another example. Leviticus chapter 11 and verse 26. Leviticus chapter 11 and verse 26. Some people today read this, don't understand it. Some who are in what I will call the fringes of the church of God take this all out of proportion and create doctrines of men over a simple command that again was intended as love by God to protect people from diseases.

EXAMPLE 3: Leviticus 11:26-35

Leviticus chapter 11 and verse 26. In context, talking about touching a dead animal. The carcass of any animal which divides the foot but is not cloven hoofed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches it shall be unclean. And whatever goes on its paws among all kinds of animals that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Whoever touches any such carcass shall be unclean until evening. Verse 28. Whoever carries any such carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. It is unclean to you. These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth. The mole, the mouse, the large lizard of its kind, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the sand reptile, the sand lizard and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. Anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean. Whether it be any item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is which any work is done, it must be put in water. In other words, it must be washed. Continuing, and it shall be unclean until evening. Then it shall be clean. Verse 33. Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls you shall break. And whatever it is shall be unclean. And such a vessel, any edible food, upon which any of them falls, which water falls becomes unclean. And any drink that may be drunk from it becomes unclean. And everything in which a part of any such carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether it is an oven or cooking stove, it shall be broken down. For they are unclean. It shall be unclean to you. Now these may seem rather bizarre to us today. But the truth is that many wild animals die of diseases and viruses they carry. One of them, frankly, which is fatal to human beings in many cases is rabies. And that can be caused by touching the fluids of a dead animal who died of rabies. There are a lot of other viruses and diseases that one can acquire. So these unclean laws that are not related to food consumption were given to help a people who didn't understand germs. They didn't understand how disease was transmitted by fluids to hand to mouth. Or fluids to your water, your cooking utensils to your mouth. So it was given out of love. It was given out of protection for a people that did not have the concept of sanitation that we have today. They didn't understand antiseptics. Again, the principle of washing and cleanliness and caution certainly apply. But the methods do not. When we come in contact with something that is diseased, we put on rubber gloves. We put on a mask. We wash our hands. We use antiseptics. We understand that Clorox is a cleansing, sanitizing agent. So this instruction given to these people about not touching the carcass of a dead animal and being unclean until even, and breaking apart your appliances and all of your cooking utensils that it may have touched, does not apply to us today. Now there's something else that I want to mention because I hear and I've read in some internet sites that some individuals ignorantly conclude that Christians should not even touch unclean animals. That you shouldn't have a dog. That's an unclean animal in case you didn't figure it out. Or a horse. Or maybe you're a cat lover and you have a cat in the house. There are many, that one shook Pedro up, because he's got a favorite cat. Now I got his attention. All kidding aside, there are many who extrapolate from this that somehow it is a sin if you have an unclean animal in your home or if you use anything from a dead unclean animal. Well is that true? Well tell me how King David's 700 horsemen took care of their animals. Tell me how Solomon's 12,000 horsemen took care of their animals. Tell me why John the Baptist wore an outer garment of camel's hair. Camel is an unclean animal. Tell me why Jesus sat on a donkey when he rode into Jerusalem. A donkey is an unclean animal, like a horse. So brethren, we need to understand of course that the Old Covenant permitted one to raise unclean animals or do business using unclean animals for non-food purposes like riding a horse. Raising a donkey and selling it to pull a cart. Or using the skin of an animal for leather or hair to protect your body and keep it warm. The Old Covenant certainly allowed those kinds of things. So we shouldn't be moved or we shouldn't be deluded by people again on the fringe of the church of God who have their own agendas and want to pull the church back into the Old Covenant. And there are those who feverishly work to do that.

EXAMPLE 4: Tassels - Numbers 15:38-41

Let's take a look at another scripture. Numbers chapter 15 and verse 38. Here's another example. And you tell me whether this is applicable to the church today. Numbers chapter 15 and verse 38. Speak to the children of Israel, it says. Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations. And to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. And you shall have the tassel and you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined. And that you may remember to do all of my commandments and be holy for your God. It's a commandment. It's in the Bible. Should we do it? Absolutely not. Because God's law, because we're part of the New Covenant, God's law is to be written on our hearts as a core value system rather than outside of our bodies hanging off of a garment. It's Jesus Christ indwelling in us through his Holy Spirit that makes us holy. Garments, tassels, blue thread, tassels, blue threads do not make us holy. Jesus Christ makes us holy. So again, we have to understand that there were a lot of instructions, a lot of commands, a lot of things said as part of the Old Covenant that are different in the New Covenant.

EXAMPLE 5: A Ceremonial Law - Leviticus 12:1-8

Take a look at another example. Leviticus chapter 12, verses 1 through 8. This is more of a ceremonial law. Leviticus chapter 12, verses 1 through 8. Contrast the original statement and the difference in the New Covenant. Leviticus chapter 12, beginning in verse 1. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a woman has conceived and born a male child, and she shall be unclean seven days, as in the days of her customary impurity, she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day, the flesh of the foreskin shall be circumcised. But that's not all. Verse 4. She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days. So among the first seven days, there's an additional thirty-three days where she's ceremonially unclean. That's a total of forty days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. Verse 5. But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification, ceremonially she'll continue to be impure, for sixty-six days. That's eighty days total. Twice as much as that if you had a male child. Verse 6. When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtle dove as a sin offering to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be clean from the flow of her blood, for this is the law for her which is born a male or female. And if she is not able to bring a lamb, which is rather expensive, lambs were expensive, she may bring two turtle doves or two young pigeons, they were a lot less expensive, a lot cheaper, one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering, so the priest shall make atonement for her and she will be clean. You know, Mary, the mother of Jesus, did this, as is recorded in Luke chapter 2, verses 22 through 24. She fulfilled this. Joseph and Mary were poor, so they bought two turtle doves rather than bring a lamb. Now why? What was this instruction all about? Well, first of all, the act of bringing a carnal, sinful human being in the world was considered to make you unclean. The law commanded 40 days of isolation for the birth of a son, 80 days for a daughter. Now today, should we tell a young mom who gives birth to a daughter, don't come to church for two and a half months? Of course not. Now, there may have been good additional reasons for this. It may have been to protect the infants from crowds of people that they would find in the tabernacle, the sanctuary, protect them from exposure to disease. Statistics show that girl infants are usually smaller. Girl infants oftentimes have backbones that are more delicate than compared to boy babies. That's proven medically. So there may have been, in the mind of God, in his great love and compassion, to give extra care to the children who were born in the world. That's proven medically. There may have been compassion to give extra protection to infant girls during a very delicate time in their life to protect them in a greater way from disease or whatever. Whatever the reason for it, this is ceremonial and it's not valid today. There are other laws that were similar to this. In the Old Covenant, only the males were commanded to attend the festivals and give offerings. You know the famous scripture we read every year in the holy days? All males shall not appear before the Lord empty. Well, there's a difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In contrast, the New Covenant is universal. And all of us, male, female, whatever race, whatever ethnicity, whatever language we may speak, are considered the full begotten children of God. As Paul stated in Galatians 3 and verse 26, he says, for you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ. So as far as inheritance goes, you get the full inheritance. He continues, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither free nor slave, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. No more distinction between a male and a female. And a female with spiritual inheritance or worth or value to God. None whatsoever. Paul says something else regarding the condition of our children. He says in 1 Corinthians 7 and verse 14, in contrast to what we just read, he said, for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband, in case God just calls one of a couple into his way of life. And continuing, he says, otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. See the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant? Giving birth under the New Covenant does not require a sin offering for the mother. It does not require separating the mother from the congregation of God.

EXAMPLE 6: Divorce and Remarriage – Matthew 19:3-10

 Let's take a look at another example. Matthew chapter 19. Famous word spoken by Jesus Christ. Matthew chapter 19. We'll see here that some of the commands in the Old Covenant were actually compromises from what God originally wanted. God gave instructions, he gave commands, but they actually were watered down compromises from what his original intent was. Matthew chapter 19 and verse 3. The Pharisees also came to him testing him and saying, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason? And he answered them and said, have you not read that he who made them at the beginning, made them male and female, and said for this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate. And he had an answer. They said, well, wait a minute. Deuteronomy chapter 24. Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and put her away? Why did Moses allow that then? And Jesus said, he said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your heart, because you are a carnal people who could not understand God's spiritual intent of things, God made that man. God made that compromise for you through Moses' instruction. Because of the hardness of your hearts permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. When God made Adam and Eve, his original spiritual intention was that marriage was for a lifetime and there would be no divorce. That's what God's original intention was, according to Jesus Christ. Verse 9, and I say unto you, whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery. And his disciples said to him, if such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry. I'm not sure I agree with their synopsis there, but that's what they said. We can't argue with what they said. So we see here that the Old Covenant law on divorce doesn't apply to the disciples of Jesus Christ. The original spiritual intent of the law, what God's will had been from creation, is what we are expected to live by, not what he simply allowed Israel to do through a command.

EXAMPLE 7: Murder – Matthew 5:21-22

In a similar way, in Matthew 5, Jesus stated that it was said of those of old that you shouldn't kill your brother. Jesus said, no. It's deeper than that. From the beginning, you shouldn't hate your brother. If you hate your brother, it's as if you've already murdered him. You've already committed adultery in your heart. Jesus said, it has been said of those of old that you shall not commit adultery. Jesus said, no, that's not good enough. The original spiritual intent of that is that you shouldn't even lust after someone in your mind, because if you do, you've already committed adultery in your heart. So we can see that Jesus came to restore the spiritual intent of the law that went oftentimes beyond the commands of the Old Covenant. So it's a mistake to look at every Old Covenant law or command and automatically think it applies to us today. Unfortunately, some people do that. It simply is not true. You have to look at the context of the time. You have to look at the people the law was given to. You have to look at the requirements of the covenant. You have to seek the spiritual principle, the principle that God may have for us today under the New Covenant, but never assume that because something is stated as a command in the Old Covenant, that it's applicable to us today. We've just seen by a few examples that some laws in the Old Covenant were a reaffirmation of the Ten Commandments and continue today. We saw that, we've seen that some were given to protect the congregation from communicable diseases that were spread by touch, or water, or body fluids, or even air. Some were rituals or ceremonial. Some were a compromise on the spiritual intent that God originally desired. So what does that mean for us today? Well, let's turn to Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 13 because I have a question. I have heard people in the church quote this scripture, sometimes very dogmatically, and I'll be honest with you that it bothers me when I see people quote this scripture rather dogmatically and imply in any way that this is an attitude that Christians should have today. Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 13. Before we read that, I'd like to remind everyone that Jesus said himself when he was condemning the Pharisees for hypocrisy in Matthew chapter 23, he said, he said, woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anointing, and have sinned against us in common, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law. Some translations say the most important things of the law, justice, mercy and faith. It is also the same Jesus Christ who said in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 7, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Now, let's read Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 13. The man lies with a male as he lies with a woman. Both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death and their blood shall be upon them. Is this the attitude that we should have today? Is this a New Covenant approach to solving problems? Simply putting people to death? Well, brethren, the spiritual principle, the answer to that question is no. In case you were wondering, the spiritual principle here is that this is a serious perversion that must be repented of. Yet the New Covenant is founded by a God of grace and mercy that gives everyone a certain amount of time to reject sin, to repent and reject sin, and to live correctly. Let me ask you a question. In John chapter 8, the Jews... brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They said, according to the law, this woman should be stoned. That's what the law says. She was committing adultery. She did it. She didn't deny it. So after Jesus had a little discussion and wrote something in the sand and everyone just kind of melted away, what did he tell the woman? He said, is there anyone here who condemns you? She said, no, they're all gone, Lord. He said, and neither do I condemn you. Go and sin. Go and sin no more. That is the New Covenant approach to sin. It's mercy. It's grace. It's understanding there indeed is a judgment day. And indeed people need to repent of perversions and sins that separate us from God. But it is not one that immediately takes it upon themselves to commit justice in that way. That was for a certain place. In a certain time. And that certain place was the Old Covenant. And that certain time was 3,500 years ago for a people whom had a certain law that's different than the covenant that we live under.

EXAMPLE 8: Nehemiah’s Approach to Ancient Israelite Men Marrying Gentile Women – Nehemiah 13:23-25

Let's take a look at another example. Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse 23. Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse 23. Respected individual. I'm always amazed at a lot of people who want to continue to keep an Old Covenant. An Old Covenant Sabbath like to go to Ezra and Nehemiah and pull out scriptures to justify their observance of the Old Covenant Sabbath. But sometimes they fail to see examples like this. And I'll ask you if this is a New Covenant approach to problem solving. Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse 23. It says in those days I also saw Jews had married women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod. And could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or other people. So I contended with them and cursed them, struck them and pulled out their hair. And made them swear by God saying you shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. So is this a New Covenant biblical approach to problem solving today? Someone marries outside of the family. Is this how one should react? Someone marries outside of their ethnic community or their race. Is this how someone should react? Absolutely not. This is an Old Covenant attitude and an Old Covenant approach. We do not live under the Old Covenant. We live under a covenant that has grace and mercy. That understands that there is indeed a judgment day. In which all of us are to live under the Old Covenant. And all of us must face God for our imperfections and our sins. And hopefully we have repented. And if we have, God has accepted that. He loves us. He has forgiven us and granted us his Holy Spirit. But I think we need to understand that some of the attitudes that percolate sometimes out of just dogmatically quoting scriptures out of the Old Testament. As if this is the way to solve today's problems. They don't apply to us. That's not the way. That's not the kind of attitude we have. The church does not have its own Old Covenant form of Sharia law. In which that's the way to solve every problem that is in the world today. And if we as Christians dogmatically quote those kinds of scriptures, we demean the meaning of the New Covenant. We don't want that to happen. So I'd like to take a few moments left in the sermon time today. To just show how some of our more controversial fundamental beliefs may have originated in the Old Testament. And they certainly do. But they have been reaffirmed in the New Testament. So they may have originated in the Old Testament. But they're reaffirmed in the New Testament. And that is why we hold them as fundamental beliefs. First of all, let's start out with sin and God's law. As you look at scripture, you see. That God's great law was enforced long before the Old Covenant. I mentioned that in a couple of sermons back. We see that Cain killed his brother Abel in Genesis 4. And that was a sin. God told Abraham that Sodom's quote sin is very grave. That was in Genesis 18. Long before the Ten Commandments were given to Moses. We see young Joseph refusing to commit adultery with Potiphar's wife. He said, how could I do this thing? And sin against God. That's Genesis chapter 39. Long before the Ten Commandments were given to the people of Israel. So in looking at the Old Testament, we see many examples of sin and the law of God being boldly proclaimed and defined. And we see the same in the New Testament. We know the things that Jesus Christ himself said about the importance of the law. We know what the disciples said. We know what the disciples said about keeping God's commandments. We know in Revelation chapter 14 and verse 12, it says, Here is the patience of the saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. So that is a fundamental belief that goes back to the roots of the Old Testament and was reaffirmed. In the New Testament, that's why we believe it. The Sabbath originated at creation. It transcends. The Old Covenant because it existed before the Old Covenant. Jesus himself said the Sabbath was made for man. In Mark chapter 2 and verse 27, that word for man, as you may know, is from the Greek word anthropos, which means a human's face. The Sabbath was made for humans. Adam and Eve were not Jews. They were not Israelites. They were humans. The Sabbath was made to be a blessing. A benefit for man. Paul and Luke and other disciples observed the Sabbath in the early church. That's why the Sabbath is part of our fundamentals of belief. Passover observance. The original Passover was observed when Israel was still in Egypt, before there was an Old Covenant back in Exodus chapter 12. Jesus observed the Passover with his disciples in Luke chapter 22. Paul proclaimed in 1 Corinthians, written 25 years after the death and resurrection of Christ in 56 AD, he said, For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. Originally instituted in the Old Testament, reaffirmed in the New Testament. That's why it's a fundamental belief. The Holy Days. Understanding the Holy Days, you look back as early as Genesis chapter 1 and verse 14, and you see that one of the reasons that God even created the heavenly lights was to provide, as the Hebrew says, Moed, that is religious festivals. God created the moon and the heavenly lights so that we could calculate religious festivals. Israel observed the Sabbath and the Feast of Unleavened Bread before the Old Covenant was made and ratified. Paul, following the example of Christ, stated to the Gentiles in Corinth, again, 56 AD, 25 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Paul said, Let us keep the feast. The New Covenant and Holy Days are observed in a different way and in a different spirit, as Paul continued to say, with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. So again, we see, the Holy Days going all the way back to the reason that the moon was created, one of the reasons to calculate religious days, all the way through time to decades after Jesus Christ had died and was resurrected from the dead. The disciples are still observing the Holy Days with a different spirit and in a different way. And that's why we observe the Holy Days today. Unclean food, established going back to Genesis, chapters 6 and 7, when God gave instruction to Noah regarding what kind of animals to take on the ark. That was long before the Old Covenant. It precedes the Old Covenant. Of course, Peter in Acts, chapter 10, refused to eat unclean animals. Even when he was commanded to, he refused to eat unclean animals because he was trying to figure out what God was trying to tell him. And it was not to physically eat unclean animals in that vision, all laying on that blanket that was coming down. It was a few chapters later in Acts 10 when he finally understood and he told Cornelius, I should not call any man common or unclean. I get it. Now I know what that vision was about. It wasn't about me going to Red Lobster tonight. It was about the fact that I should not call any man common or unclean. And that's why we continue to avoid unclean foods in the Church of God today. Avoidance of man-made religious festivals. Of course, we know that there are many commands in the Old Testament in which Israel was warned not to pollute faithful worship by blending in pagan ideas. Going into the New Covenant, Jesus himself said in John, chapter 4, verse 24, that God is spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. It's not about pretty lights. It's not about candles. It's not about stained glass. It's not about taking something pagan and putting a little lipstick on it to make it look good. He said if you're going to worship God, you have to do it in spirit and in truth. Very important principle. And that's why we do not celebrate Easter, Christmas, April Fool's Day, and all the other Fool's Days in the Church of God. Tithing. Tithing, as an example and principle, goes all the way back to Genesis, chapter 14, when Abraham gave Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God, a tithe. That was long before the Old Covenant. I mentioned quickly earlier in Matthew, chapter 23, when Jesus told the scribes and the Pharisees who were meticulously tithing on the Sabbath, and off of mint and herbs, that he said, you should have done that. That was good. But you should have not forgotten about the weightier matters of the law, which is justice and mercy and faith. The tithing part was good, but it left out the really important part, and that is what's in your heart, what your mindset is.

CONCLUSION:

Well, brethren, in conclusion, today we have seen that the Old Covenant laws fall into some basic categories. Some, some were moral and are universal, and indeed we do observe them just as they are written today. Any one that relates directly to the Ten Commandments, God's great moral law. Some were specifically for an ancient people who lacked the knowledge of sanitation and how disease is spread, and God in his great compassion and mercy to protect them from themselves gave them laws at that time which are not applicable to us. Some were ceremonial. Some were ritual, which were all fulfilled in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. If you look deeply enough, you'll find that they all have spiritual applications, but many of them were specifically for an Old Covenant nation and were fulfilled by the life of Jesus Christ himself. The words of Jesus Christ in the example of the apostles help us to understand how the New Covenant supersedes the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant for the church today. So I hope this helps us to understand even a little more deeply that there is a big difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. And our approach to the scriptures are deeply respectful. And indeed we believe that scriptures are the inspired word of God. But understanding that and believing that, we also appreciate the fact that God gave certain laws for certain people at a certain time, under a certain covenant, and today, he has blessed us with laws for us to live by under the New Covenant. Sometimes those laws are more exacting than they were before. And we have to understand that and appreciate it. Be sure to have a wonderful Sabbath day.