Thus far we have been discussing the subject of God’s choice to declare some foods clean and others unclean.
The conclusion reached was that it is utterly hopeless to try and determine from a Greek rational/logical perspective the reason why God has determined some animals to be clean and others unclean.
Ultimately, we have no choice but to accept the Lord’s declarations as a sovereign act of His will.
The Hebrew dietary rules do lead us to another controversial topic however: the subject of ritual uncleanliness and holiness.
This is actually an area we’re going to begin tackling head on from Leviticus Chapter 12.
If we’re going to even begin to understand many of the verses about purity in the New Testament the way they were meant to be understood, this is really a topic we need to properly grasp.
For now, let me just quickly deal with the following question:
Is uncleanness the same thing as sin?
The fast and dirty answer is NO.
However, uncleanness can certainly be a product of sin.
For example, when a female has her monthly cycle, the Scriptures declare she is unclean.
Yet, is there anything sinful in that?
Of course not.
Or when a woman gives birth to a child, she is declared unclean.
Yet, is there anything sinful in that?
Of course not.
Another common form of uncleanness is the contraction of a skin disease known as TZARAT in Hebrew (and no it does NOT mean leprosy, for a fuller treatment of this topic, read this article).
Again, there is nothing sinful per say in contracting a skin disease.
However, the Scriptures do tell us that when one contracted a skin disease, it was an outer sign of some hidden or inner sinful condition.
Rest assured, we’re going to be dealing with the subject of ritual impurity in excruciating detail moving forward, but for now, just understand this.
The words “uncleanness” and “sin” are NOT synonymous.
Purge from your mind the idea that sin and uncleanness are the same thing.
Having said that however, understand that under no circumstances can God’s holiness come into contact with any uncleanness.
The Lord’s holiness must be protected and separated from all uncleanness at all times.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Nothing unclean will ever enter it,
nor will anyone who does
what is shameful or deceitful,
but only those whose names
are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
-Revelations 21:27
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