Moses and the Gentiles

In the last message I opened up the door to a vast room of dusty chairs, cobwebs, old books, and antique furniture. It’s the kind of room that takes you back to a time period as if the room was frozen in time. Only, as in all such cases, when you look out the window are you reminded that everything else has kept moving forward. I don’t intend to go backwards, but forward. Moving forward does not mean abandoning such a hidden treasure, but it does mean taking those books off the shelf, perhaps uploading the Kindle version, and putting them to use. I see need to defend this thinking and for sake of brevity I will focus on two passages that will adequately demonstrate what I have come to understand.

Jew and Gentile are held to the Same Standard

“Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.”

Leviticus 18:24–28

Here we encounter a warning given to the Israelites to carefully observe all that God had commanded them so that they not become defiled and the land spew them out as it had done to the Canaanites. Just before this is listed many of the causes that led to them being spewed out—incest, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, and so forth. We must remember that the Canaanites did not receive the Law of Moses but their actions against God's prescribed morality still caused them to be judged and spewed out of the land (Rom. 1:18, 3:29, 4:15). Since they didn’t have the law, how does wrath come if there is no transgression? And how does transgression come without law? “Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression” (Rom. 4:15). An important truth to remember is that God is the God of both Jew and Gentile. The law itself was given to show that all are alike in that all men are under sin. For there is none righteous. Yet, the Gentile who was without the law which the Israelites graciously received—I will explain this graciousness in another post—incurs wrath for: “unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful” (Rom. 1:29–31). How can this be? “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Rom. 1:32). They, those Paul was speaking of, were without excuse. There was given to them a God given conscience that they, along with all others, suppressed in unrighteousness. By receiving wrath we know they broke law, God’s law. Notice that Paul does not say “for where there is no ‘knowledge’ of law, there is no transgression.” He says elsewhere, "For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law" (Rom. 5:17). To give a contemporary example, if there were no law against speeding one would not receive a speeding ticket. If, however, the law was in place and a man knew it not he would still be issued a ticket for speeding. This is testified in Leviticus: “And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity” (Lev. 5:17). Well, there you have it. If a soul sins and breaks a commandment of the Lord though he did not know it he will bear his iniquity. There is no difference. The Jew who received God’s revealed law and the Gentile who not did not were held to the same standard. Where there is no law there is no transgression. It is explicit that there is no law against love, hence there is no fear in love. He who loves does not transgress. To avoid endless explanation I hope we could now see that when the Israelites received the law all men of the world were accountable to God by the same standard, whether they had received the law or not. In fact, that was one purpose of the Law. “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19). All the world is guilty before God by the same standard. Gentiles were spewed from the land for their abominations, and Israel itself was later spewed out for doing the same. Now, do we expect that we as a nation would get a pass for our abominations? When men and women seek to exchange genitals, when millions of babies are offered into the arms of Molech, when homosexuality is praised in the streets, and on and on the transgressions go reaching their way up to heaven, will the land not vomit out such people? “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Eph. 6:1–3). Do not forget what was mentioned at the end of Romans 1 as to the reasons God pours out his wrath. Does he not say that they were “disobedient to parents?”

Kiss the Son, Lest He be Angry

I must continue to drive this home with another example. We must never think that those who are in governing authorities are exempt from being accountable to God for their actions in governance. We saw previously how God himself establishes government and it is his wrath, his standard, which is to be upheld. But this following example is not a case of judgement for a man doing evil to others. No, this is an example of a man doing what was good to others but not kissing the Son. 

“And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”

Acts 12:20–23 

Here we see Herod giving an oration that was just. How do know it was just? Because of glory. If the oration by Herod was not just there would be no such statement concerning not giving the glory to God. Notice, the people respond with praise calling him a god. In receiving this praise as if he were the just one God struck him dead. The text does not leave us without reason. Again, his judgment was “because he gave not God the glory.” God truly is the God of the Gentiles after all. Can there be any doubt that God holds leaders to his standard when a Gentile does what is right and receives judgment for not giving God the glory? Let there be no doubt: “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Ps. 2:10–12). What are they told? To be instructed, to kiss the Son. Why is God’s wrath poured out? For foolishness, on those without understanding (Rom. 1:31). Can there be any reason we would say the law has no authority in the world? Is it not Scripture? Is it not from God? Can we not ascertain knowledge and doctrine from it? Is it useless for equipping us for good works? For our correction? For reproof? Is not the law good if one uses it lawfully (1 Tim. 1:8)? God forbid we should not be able to say as the psalmist:

“O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Ps. 119:97–105 

Now that we have dusted off the armchair and turned a few pages from some forgotten books I hope it may be time to arrange them, to put things in order, to bring up further questions as to meaning and application of such teaching. In my discussions with those who espouse what is called New Covenant Theology there are none who say the Gentile was ever under the Law of Moses, that includes the Ten Commandments. In written form I can agree, but not as evidenced in judgment. In due time I will respond to a specific branch of New Covenant Theology but as one who is heavily surrounded by those who hold to Dispensationalism, at least loosely, I think it wise to challenge it first. The truths have been in plain sight. A door walked past many days, left alone, is now open. "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good" (Rom. 7:12).

Further Reading: Steve Lehrer's NCT refuted by Frank Brito: https://americanvision.org/9836/incest-holy-gods-sight-westminster-west-grad-gets-consistent-r2k/
(This is well written refutation and the similarities in passage usage demonstrate its influence in my own writing here.)