Ask Your Preacher - Archives
“Mixing Fabrics & Covenants”
Categories: DOCTRINE, NEW TESTAMENT, OLD TESTAMENTDue to all of the media attention to homosexuality, I'm wondering why most Christians are so adamant that it is intolerable. Doesn't the Bible also say not to mix fabrics and eat shellfish? What's the difference?Sincerely,A Confused Citizen
Dear A Confused Citizen,
You bring up a fair point. It isn’t okay to fervently support the beliefs in the Bible that we like while ignoring the ones we don’t. That is called subtracting from God’s Word, and it is strictly condemned (Rev 22:18-19). God expects us to take the total sum of His Word and apply it (Ps 119:160), and part of taking the sum of God’s Word is keeping it in context.Here is where people get confused: the Old Testament laws should never be used as proof verses for Christian practices. The Old Testament laws were for Jews, and the New Testament laws are for Christians. Click here to watch a short video on the difference between the Old and New Testament. The Bible does clearly condemn mixing fabrics (Deut 22:11) and eating shellfish (Lev 11:10)... but in the Old law for the Jewish nation, not in the New Testament.
On the other hand, homosexuality is clearly condemned in the New Testament in verses like Rom 1:26-27 and Jude 7.
The Bible does make it clear that we can’t pick and choose the verses we like and the sins we prefer to condemn... but it also teaches that we must not twist things out of context either. The apostles taught the whole counsel of God, and so should we (Acts 20:27). At our congregation in Monroe, that is exactly what we strive to do every day.
