L15-4: How are believers to stay away from the UNCLEAN, yet show God’s love to the UNCLEAN?

I mentioned a couple of lessons ago that we as Believers are to stay away from the UNCLEAN, even if it is impossible for us to become UNCLEAN due to being purified by the shed blood and living water of Yeshua.

If we are to stay away from the UNCLEAN, how are we to reconcile that with the fact that we are to proactively go out and take the Good News to an UNCLEAN world.

It seems like we are being told to do two different things at the same time.

We are told to stay away from the UNCLEAN, yet seek out the UNCLEAN and love them.

The believer is to reach out to UNCLEAN homosexuals, prostitutes, criminals, atheists, and unbelievers of every stripe and color.

How to resolve this apparent contradiction?

Well, here’s my explanation.

It’s one thing to lay a hand of kindness on a hardened drug dealer and another thing to snort cocaine with him.

There is a difference between showing UNCLEAN people Godly love and mercy and coming into union with them.

In one case, we’re violating the holy command to separate oneself from the UNCLEAN.

In another case, we’re carrying out the holy command to take the Gospel to the UNCLEAN.

Both actions involve contact with the UNCLEAN, yet one action is sin and one is not.

Viewed through the lens of what we’ve been studying in Leviticus over the past couple of weeks, we should not be surprised or shocked at this seeming contradiction.

Leviticus makes it clear to us that not all UNCLEANNESS is the same.

And the way to accomplish purity from the different kinds of UNCLEANNESS is not the same either.

However, all purification rituals always involve living water or MAYIM CHAYIM.

Note that Leviticus 15:11 lets us know that if an infected man PURIFIES himself by washing his hands in MAYIM CHAYIM or “living water”, he can prevent the spread of his UNCLEANNESS to another.

For the believer today, our protective and cleansing barrier of Living Water is Yeshua.

We are covered both by His blood and His Living Water.

Hence, we now have a built-in immunity to UNCLEANNESS as long as we remain in union with Him.

Another point.

Just because there is a way to keep the infected man here in Leviticus 15 from transmitting His UNCLEANNESS, does this mean that UNCLEANNESS suddenly no longer exists? 

The answer is absolutely not.

UNCLEANNESS is very much alive and well in our world.

Yeshua did NOT do away with all of the UNCLEANNESS in the world.

When He returns to establish His Kingdom, He will but until then, UNCLEANNESS abounds on this planet, in our neighborhoods, at our places of work, in what’s beamed out of our TV sets, and in our schools.

As a chosen HOLY people, we are commanded to stay away from it.

And we are most certainly NEVER to come into union with it.

There is difference between knowingly participating with the UNCLEAN and showing the Lord’s love and grace to the UNCLEAN.