Lev.19:2 / Matt.5:48
Introduction
Activity – ask one tall and one shorter person to come out. Ask the small person to jump from standing to reach the height of the tall person – it can’t be done!
Some of the commandments in the Bible seem equally impossible, perhaps none more so than this one. How on earth can we be holy or perfect in the same way as God is? It just can’t be done.
Looking at the Old Testament it seems as if the attempt to obey this single commandment led to a proliferation of “do’s and don’ts”. In trying to work out in practice what “being holy as God is holy” meant there were more and more rules which had to be obeyed.
Have a look at the reading from Leviticus 19 vv18 and count up the “do’s” and “don’ts”
“Do’s”
1. Leave the gleanings v.9-10
2. Fear your God v.14
3. Judge fairly v.15
4. Rebuke your neighbour frankly v.17
5. Love your neighbour as yourself v.18
N.B 5 times “I am the Lord”
“Don’ts”
1. Reap to the edge or gather the gleanings v.9
2. Go over the vineyard a second time or pick up the fallen grapes
3. Lie, steal, deceive v.11
4. Swear falsely v.12
5. Defraud or rob your neighbour v.13
6. Hold back the wages of a hired man v.13
7. Curse the deaf or trip up the blind v.14
8. Pervert justice v.15
9. Spread slander v.16
10. endanger your neighbour’s life v.16
11. hate your brother in your heart v.17
12. seek revenge or bear a grudge v.18
What a long list of do’s and don’ts and these are just a sample. If you look through the whole of the O.T. there are hundreds of such commands and these were added to and interpreted by the religious leaders. Sooner or later people found that it was impossible to please God by keeping the Law
What about the new testament, what sorts of do’s and don’ts do we find there? Have a look at the gospel reading Matthew 5:38-end and list them.
“Do’s”
1. Turn the other cheek v.39
2. give cloak as well as tunic v.40
3. go the extra mile v.41
4. give to the one who asks v.42
5. Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors.v.44
“Don’ts”
1. Resist an evil person v.39
2. Turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you v.42
3. limit your response to that of the pagans v.43-48
Note that this passage is interpreting some of the rules found in the O.T. It would appear from these two sample texts that in the N.T. there are more “do’s” and fewer “don’ts but that doesn’t make it any easier.
In fact the whole law can be summarised in just two commandments, love God with all your being and love your neighbour as yourself. Here again it is not easy – same as be perfect as I am perfect – it just can’t be done. So why has God given us such impossible commands – is it to demoralise us?
The demanding commandments of God serve two purposes 1. They give us a bench mark, something to aim at and secondly they help us realise that we need his divine intervention. It is only through the saving work of Jesus and the in-dwelling power of the Spirit that we can hope to be perfect as our heavenly Father.
Conclusion
Have the small and tall people out again. Repeat the exercise but this time allow the tall person to lift the small one.