A New Memorial

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         Last week, we recognized Memorial Day. God encourages memorials to help us remember significant things. We have short memories - many times it takes as little as one generation for important things to be forgotten. We see that over and over in scripture in the Old Testament where God's people simply forgot what He had done for them. And then the next generation turned away from God to idolatry. I want you to keep that idea of 'memorials' in mind this morning, and I'm going to come back to it again at the end.

I've noticed something in today's culture - and perhaps you have too - many non-Christians appear to feel compelled to tell Christians what the Bible says and how it should be lived out. People who reject God and religion - people who choose not to live according to Biblical standards - tell followers of Jesus how they should Biblically live out their Christianity. And it's easy to become dismissive or defensive - but that doesn't help them find Jesus or what the Bible actually says... So how do we respond?

When the unbelieving world distorts what God's Word says about marriage, or the value of human life, or the best way to care for the poor, or the correct way to view and treat those different from us - and then claim that Biblically Christians have gotten it wrong - how do we respond?

Some favorite Biblical challenges are 'God is love' and 'The Bible says not to judge!' Yes, scripture does say, 'God is love' - but it also says He is a righteous God. Yes, we shouldn't judge, but scripture does set a standard for holiness.

Three weeks ago - I spoke about scripture's inerrancy - how the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is inerrant, it has no errors or mistakes. But there are those who say, "Fine, you believe it's God's Word, but why do Christians only follow some of it?" Which brings me to my first point...

I. Is our Christianity consistent?

Of course, Christians, people, will have good days and bad days - but is what Christianity teaches in the Bible consistent? Do we selectively apply some passages but ignore others? Yes, we are to completely follow God's Word - but there are those without an understanding of God's Word who try to use it to discredit Christianity.

For instance - I had one friend, trying to defend his personal view of human sexuality, who accurately pointed out that we do not follow such passages as Leviticus 11:12 (NIV)...

Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.

He challenged, 'Why do you follow some of scripture but it's okay for Christians to eat lobster or shrimp or any kind of shellfish? If you say you believe the Bible, and that it's all God's Word - why do you...

A. Ignore some of God's commands?

Now, of course, we can't really expect those outside of the Church to fully understand the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament; the Old covenant and the New. We are a New Testament Church - but how do we answer them about which parts we follow and which we don't?

For instance, the Ten Commandments are in the Old Testament. - 'I am the Lord Your God, have no other false gods', 'Honor your father and mother', 'Do not murder', 'Do not commit adultery' - we still follow those commands from the Old Testament. But what do we say about "Honor the Sabbath"?

Back in the Old Testament, there's an account of a man working on the Sabbath - he was gathering firewood. And we find this in Numbers 15:35-36 (NIV)...

Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." (36) So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.

So, those outside the Church, they might ask, 'why is it that you keep some of the 'ten commandments' but not others? I can't recall the last time I encouraged anyone to stone someone for working on the Sabbath...

The Old Testament contains entire books devoted to the various sacrifices and complex rules for ceremonial purity and cleanliness. God had commanded specific ways to atone for sin and specific rules you had to obey in order to approach Him in worship. You couldn't eat certain foods, you had to dress a certain way - you had to be ceremonially pure in order to enter into God's presence.

And one thing that many people don't understand is the difference between...

B. Ceremonial and moral laws

And I don't mean them as just 'ceremony' as something solely ritualistic or unimportant by any means. God spelled out in the Old Testament all of these specific things for a reason. He doesn't always share the 'why' behind all of these rules - but then again, He doesn't have to - He's God and whatever He says goes.

But even in the Old Testament, many writers hinted that the 'ceremonial laws', the sacrifices, the temple worship regulations - they all pointed forward to something beyond just themselves. We see that foreshadowed in the Old Testament passage...

Jeremiah 31:31-33 (NIV)

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. (32) It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.

(33) "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul, appointed by Jesus Himself, makes it clear that the apostles understood the Old Testament moral laws were different from the ceremonial laws.

Romans 13:8-10 (NIV)

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. (9) The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (10) Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Those moral laws are still binding because of God's character - His integrity, His love - His faithfulness. All the Old Testament says about loving our neighbor, caring for the poor, generosity with our possessions, social relationships, and commitment to our family is still in force. And the New Testament repeatedly reaffirms those 'moral laws'. Again, Paul wrote, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV)...

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders (10) nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And this is not meant as a weapon of condemnation of anyone outside of the Church, but Paul was specifically writing to those in the Church - to call them to obey the 'moral laws', to call them to repentance. Paul restates the 'moral laws' from the Old Testament but not the 'ceremonial laws'. Paul made a distinction between those different laws. Does that mean that Paul's teachings of Christianity are inconsistent? No, because when you read the whole story - the Bible tells us that...

II. Jesus changed everything!

The fact that Christians today eat at Red Lobster doesn't make Christianity inconsistent. When Jesus came, God in the flesh - He's allowed to change the rules. Jesus declared all foods clean - including pork and shellfish. Jesus even 'broke' the 'ceremonial laws' in other ways - He touched lepers and dead bodies, He healed on the Sabbath. Jesus changed the 'ceremonial laws' - how we approach God, how we worship - but not how we are to live and behave morally.

The writer of Hebrews explained it this way with Jesus' teachings about our relationship with God in Hebrews 10:8-10 (NIV)...

First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). (9) Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. (10) And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

When Jesus died on the cross, the veil in the temple separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Old Testament Temple was torn in two symbolizing that the need for the entire sacrificial system with all its 'ceremonial laws' had been done away with. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for sin, and now Jesus makes His followers "clean" - not some set of rules. And the entire book of Hebrews explains that the Old Testament 'ceremonial laws' were not so much abolished but fulfilled by Jesus.

So Christianity isn't inconsistent in accepting the Bible's teachings. Actually, going back and following all of those laws would be the inconsistent thing to do as it would completely ignore Jesus' sacrifice. So Jesus changed everything about the ceremonial laws, but not the 'moral laws' as He took the 'Good News' of His coming from applying just to His chosen people, the nation of Israel...

A. To all nations

The Old Testament is a record of the history of the Nation of Israel; God's chosen people through whom the Messiah would come. But when that Messiah came, when Jesus came - the focus of the laws went from guiding a nation state to leading anyone to follow Jesus.

In the Old Testament, things like adultery or incest were punishable with civil sanctions like execution - public stoning. That's because at that time God commanded for His people that all sins had civil, public penalties. But in the New Testament, the people of God are an assembly of churches all over the world, living under many different governments. Sins continue to be sins - but the way we are to deal with them changes. The moral law remains for all believers - but Jesus changed how believers are to deal with those sins.

And again, the application of the 'ceremonial laws' changed with taking Jesus' message outside of the nation of Israel. In the New Testament, some well meaning Christians went around teaching that some of the ceremonial laws that applied to Jewish people under the old law should now also be applied to 'non-Jewish folk' who wanted to follow Jesus. The Apostles got together and prayed for insight as to how to handle this situation. James, the leader of this early Church, the brother of our Lord, stood up and said, in Acts 15:19 (NIV)...

It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

And after much study and prayer, they all concluded, in Acts 15:28-29 (NIV)...

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: (29) You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

In order to keep the peace among the Jewish and non-Jewish Christians, they only included two of the hundreds of Old Testament ceremonial and civil laws. They understood that the 'moral law' remained but that Jesus changed everything else!

And because we tend to forget even big things like that - Jesus established a new memorial Himself to help us remember.

B. Communion

Today we celebrated that memorial. We remembered, we reflected on Jesus' sacrifice - we participated in a ritual, a ceremony, an event that is somehow more than just a symbol of what Jesus did for us. Somehow, spiritually we participate in His sacrifice as we remember Him through communion.

Matthew 26:26-28 (NIV)

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." (27) Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. (28) This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

Jesus' death on a cross, His body pierced, His blood shed, His life given to pay the penalty for our sin - that sacrifice of God's perfect lamb fulfilled all of the Old Testament ritual sacrifices - making a way for us to the Father, to have communion with Him.

Once you understand the entire story of the Bible, of how God created mankind, allowed us free will, how He pursued His chosen people and how He Himself came through them in the person of Jesus Christ - once you understand the unity of the story - once you understand that the entire Old Covenant was pointing to the New Covenant under Jesus Himself - then all the various parts of the Bible make sense.

Christianity is consistent - following Jesus is the culmination of the story of God's people.

So What?

We need to remember that there are a lot of people who need hope - hope that we have - found in Jesus, and Him alone.

Memorials are important. They help us remember significant things. Memorials are intended to point us to something - the memorial in itself is not the focus, but the focus should be on the greater sacrifice; and 'why' that sacrifice was made. Every time you participate in communion do not forget Jesus' sacrifice and all the implications it has on your life - the changes that Jesus made to how we worship and approach God.

Because of what we celebrate at communion - you no longer have to make daily, weekly, yearly animal sacrifices to atone for your sin. You don't have to follow hundreds of dietary restrictions and difficult rules and laws to approach God. Because Jesus changed everything, we no longer have to go through a priest to talk to God. We can pray, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, directly to our all powerful, almighty God. And He hears our prayers!

Don't just remember Jesus' sacrifice - live the freedoms that He has given us! Embrace the freedom from your past sin! Honor Jesus' sacrifice by doing something - graciously share the message of Jesus with someone who doesn't know Him!