My favorite Old Testament law (and how many have such a thing?) is found in Leviticus 19:19 and prohibits wearing blended fabrics. Repeated in Deuteronomy 22:11, it comes along with a short list of other things that are not to be mingled, so it is obvious this is more than just fashion advice. Instead, it seems to be part of an overarching Biblical concept that has significant relevance for today.
There are two other places where God significantly speaks against the idea of blending. One is in Mark 2:21-22 (found as well in Matthew 9: 16-17) where Jesus says not to put new patches on old garments or new wine in old wineskins. The other is in Revelation 3:15-16 where the resurrected Jesus tells the Laodiceans that He wishes they were either hot or cold because their blended, lukewarm status is making Him sick. Personal Application As I think about this, it seems pretty clear that God intends that my approach to life as a Christian – my response to things, interactions with people, goals and priorities – would be very different from my days before coming to Christ. After all, I am a new creation, and the old way of doing things has ended. Blending the two approaches seems contrary to the expression of God’s will. This is most clearly expressed by Paul in Galatians 6: 8 where he draws a clear distinction between sowing to the flesh (which leads to death) and sowing to the spirit (which leads to life). Of course, before the arrival of the Holy Spirit in my life I could only sow to the flesh, but Paul is writing to the Christians in Galatia who, like me, have a choice. Larger Application I recently attended a church that believed that washing each other’s feet is an ordinance established by Jesus, and so the church should practice doing this on a regular basis. My impression is that this literal interpretation of what He did at the (so called) Last Supper is not shared by most Christians, who take it as an example of serving each other, as Paul instructs us to do in Galatians 6:2. This is not to suggest that the majority has it right and this church gets it wrong. It seems to me that the majority of churches get baptism wrong when they insist on water baptism. There is more than one kind of baptism in the Bible. Acts 8:16 and Acts 19:5 describe baptism in the name of Jesus, the baptism of John, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Of these, only the baptism of John is described as involving water. Greatest Application The use of any ritual – baptism, communion, confession – is limited to its ability to help us grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). It seems to me that any other perceived value is actually putting faith in our own actions, which I think is what the Bible calls sowing to the flesh. The point of any and all ritual is explained in Colossians 2:17 which says they are a foreshadowing of Christ. It’s easy to see this when comparing the animal sacrifice practiced under the law of Moses to the complete, final sacrifice of Jesus. However, sometimes I wonder if there was a temple in Jerusalem whether or not Christians would be bringing animals, birds and grain there for sacrifice. If they would, they had better check to make sure they are not wearing blended fabrics.
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November 2019
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