Ceremonial law, moral law, dietary law - homosexuality and the Bible
THE MORAL AND CEREMONIAL LAWS DISTINGUISHED
The chief failure of those who reduce the book of Leviticus to a non-applicable status is in not recognizing the proper biblical distinctions between that which God intended to be temporary and that which is permanent and applicable to all persons.
The Bible does make distinctions between what was temporary, solely intended for the children of Israel, and that which is universal, unchanging, and obligatory upon all peoples in all places.
We have not denied that parts of the book of Leviticus offer temporary instruction. Some regulations are no longer observed due to divine amendment. We have already seen this to be the case with regard to the dietary laws and the ordinances that pertained to the priesthood. Bible scholars and theologians have recognized these distinctions and categorized them as the ceremonial and moral law.
God’s moral law refers to those precepts that are perpetually binding upon all peoples in all time (murder, adultery, the sole worship of the One true God).
God’s ceremonial law refers to those precepts (ordinances, regulations) that were temporarily in effect and were specifically designed for the worship of God by His covenant people. These temporary statutes, in part, pointed forward to (prefigured) the person and work of the Messiah, Jesus Christ (the priesthood, the tabernacle, temple, sacrifices, Passover, and the feasts) as well as referred to those aspects of divine requirement that pertained only to those persons who were “in covenant” with the Lord. These ceremonial laws were temporary in practice and in design.
The ceremonial laws also pertained to practices that were intended to distinguish the people of Israel from other nations. The ceremonial law included such matters as the sacrifices, the priesthood, the tabernacle, and (later) the temple, the offerings, and the festival calendar, which included Passover and the Day of Atonement.
These practices, distinctive to Israel, would also include the regulations regarding the blending of fabrics, seed, and cattle as well as those that pertained to trimming of the hair and beards—Israel was a distinct nation (Exodus 19:5; Leviticus 11:44–47; Deuteronomy 4:5–8; 7:6–11). To illustrate the difference between the ceremonial law and the moral law, note that no Egyptian, Assyrian, Moabite, or Edomite was ever condemned for missing Passover or for not following the dietary laws or ignoring beard-trimming regulations.
Furthermore, Passover was only for those who were already marked by the covenant sign of circumcision (Exodus 12:43–51). Passover was not required of those who were not followers of the Lord. The same could be said of the sacrifices, the priesthood, the festival calendar—none of these things were required of those outside of Israel.
The ceremonial law, since it was concerned with the Old Covenant worship of God and the duties of those involved in worship, prefigured the person and work of Christ, and is sometimes called the “restorative” or “redemptive” law. It is called this not because it provided redemption but because it explained or illustrated the way of redemption. The Law was never intended to provide salvation (Galatians 2:21; 3:21). Salvation has always been by grace and through faith and based upon the perfect work of Jesus Christ.
White, J. R., & Niell, J. D. (2002). The Same Sex Controversy: Defending and Clarifying the Bible’s Message about Homosexuality (pp. 79–81). Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.
