Suspected of Adultery

Do you ever think some of the laws, just some of them, you come across these laws in the Old Testament?

They just seem weird, archaic, even sexist at some times, and it just makes you wonder. You know, you don't doubt God, but you just wonder, what in the world was God thinking when He made that law? Because it doesn't seem fair, or it doesn't seem loving. Have you ever thought that? And be honest, because you don't have to answer anybody. Just answer the question in your own mind.

Some people would go so far as to say that the Old Testament was written for a different age. They don't really apply in your life today, because our lives are so different today than their primitive lives back then. Is that true? Now, I just want to clarify. I am not talking about should we keep the law of God or not. We've fought that battle. We're all here for the very reason we know that we keep the law of God. That's why we're here on the Sabbath instead of Sunday.

But, do we understand the law? That's the question. Do we get how the law applies to us? Are some of those laws so archaic and so primitive that they no longer apply in our day and age? Is that true? Well, Solomon weighs in on this little debate. Let's see what God inspired Solomon to say. Ecclesiastes chapter 1 and verse 9. Now, again, we're not talking about whether or not we keep the law of God or not.

We're talking about do we understand it and is it relevant in your life? Can you read an Old Testament law and know what you are supposed to do with it? Even though there's no tabernacle, there's no sacrifices anymore, there is no priest to go to to do some of these things.

Do you just throw those away? Or do you understand the principle that God is trying to give you and is it relevant to you? Or is it just primitive stuff for a group of slaves that came out of Egypt that didn't know up from down? And of course, we know up from down today. I mean, we drive cars. They didn't even have cars back then. We have houses. We have air conditioning. You know, I question how advanced we are because today it took an air conditioning tech in our congregation to go over to the air conditioning unit and find out that it was on heat, not cool.

He's a miracle worker. How advanced are we really? Are we more advanced than the people who came out of Egypt as slaves? Okay. Solomon, Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 9. That which has been is what will be. Huh? That which is done is what will be done. And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which may be said, see, this is new. The iPhone 8 has come out. It's new. Is it? Is it really new?

There's new technology advancements all the time. Right? We go from wagon to automobile to airplane to spacecraft. There's now plans that civilians can buy tickets to go into outer space. There's even a plan to put a hotel, I don't know what you would call it, on the moon. That's an advancement, right?

That's not exactly what Solomon's talking about. He's not talking about technology. He's not talking about learning what the last generation did. And making it a little better. And each generation advances in technology. He's talking about humanity and morality and the choices that we make. Are we really different than the children of Israel? Let's read on. Can it really be said, see, this is new? It has already been in ancient times before us. Wow! No such thing as primitive people.

You know, we go to school and you learn that we started as cavemen, hunter-gatherers. We beat our chest and drag our women by our hair. Or their hair. Whichever. Right? That didn't happen. Read the Genesis account. Adam and Eve were created. Their sons can't enable. What did they do? Farming and ranching. There was no hunting gathering going on. Mankind was mankind from the beginning.

The intelligence that we have, they had. The feelings that we have, they had. The human interaction problems that we have, they had. This is Solomon's point. And he goes on. He says, there is no remembrance of former things. You know why you think you're more advanced than they were in the 1920s? Because you didn't live in the 1920s. And you have no idea what they were like.

Because by the time you knew somebody from the 1920s, she was Grandma. And she was so, you know, well-behaved and mannered, and she could cook and clean. She was never a wild, rebellious teenager. Right? She never sassed her parents. Of course she did!

There's nothing new under the sun. Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after. Why do we think that we're so different than them? Because we have no idea. So Solomon fills in the blanks. He says, guess what, folks? No such thing as primitive people. Primitive technology? Sure. Primitive people? Ha-ha.

So, what a brilliant deduction!

How would you know what it's like back in ancient times? Everybody forgets after a couple of generations, and you have no idea what it's like. But there is a way to know. My mother just died. And I remember her so she is not forgotten. But guess what? I'm going to die. And her memories that I have will die with me. And then my children also remember her so her memory will live on with them.

But they don't have any children, and they don't remember her. And when they die, her memory is gone. Well, multiply that by a hundred, two hundred, a thousand. And we have no memory of what it was like way back then. And the same will happen to our kids and their kids and so on. There is nothing new under the sun. What a brilliant deduction. If you want to know how something was in ancient times, look at how things are today. Nothing is new under the sun. And that means that the laws of God that he wrote for them in ancient time had relevance to them at that time. Know what that means? Therefore, they have relevance for you and me today. Because nothing is new under the sun. If it was relevant for them, it's relevant for me and you. Make sense? Let's move on. This is a hard one to wrap your mind around, especially when some laws seem so out of date. So let's look at one of those laws, the law of a woman suspected in adultery. This is a tough one. This law seems so weird, so archaic, and absolutely sexist. One-sided, men are better than women, kind of a law. So let's tackle this one.

King David wrote the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119. Oh, how I love your law. How his God's law, David loved it, didn't like it, wasn't forced to keep it. He loved it. Well, that included this law. A law of what to do with a woman, not a man, a woman who is suspected of adultery. Already, probably, half the people have tuned out. Well, that's not fair. And therefore, it's probably in addition to the Bible, because God is fair. This would never be a law in the Bible. Hold your horses. They're sparky.

Okay. Now, this law is not about someone who's guilty of adultery. Just suspected. If a woman were apprehended in the act of adultery, both she and her adulterous male partner were subject to the death penalty. That was easy. That was black and white. All right? That law doesn't even come into question. It's absolutely fair.

Notice Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 10. I'm going to read this from the New Living Translation just for clarity. We don't use the New Living Translation for doctrine, but we do in everyday conversation. So, I'll use it quite a bit today. Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 10. If a man commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death. Period. End of story. Black and white. That's easy. Not a tough law to understand. We also can go to Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verse 22 that says, if a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. And then in this law, it tells why. In this way, you must purge Israel from such evil. So, this was a law to protect Israel from evil. It actually protects the fabric of society, which is family, which is what God invented and started back in the Garden of Eden when he created Adam and Eve, a husband and a wife. And God does not want that messed with. So, this law was very harsh and very strict, but very easy to understand and follow. And we see examples of this punishment actually being carried out in Israel. God doesn't tolerate adultery. And if you commit to a spouse, you stick with that spouse. But what if someone were just suspected of adultery? You think they committed adultery. Wouldn't God have a law if the woman suspected the man of adultery? And why didn't he?

Because there is not that law. The law is just for the woman. What is up with that? Is that ancient? Is that out of date? Do you question the law of God when you see things like this? It's easy to do, so don't judge people when they do. There's actually a brilliant reason for this law, a brilliant reason that actually, I'll just give you a little hint, protects the woman.

This law protects the woman. It seems sexist and unfair, but there's no need for such a law for a man. There is no need for it. There is a major need for this law for the woman, and it protects her.

I mean, if a woman suspects her husband of adultery, she's going to find out.

That's just my call. Opinion, not doctrine. But if someone is just suspected for adultery, let's look at the law. Numbers, chapter 5, verse 11. We're actually going to go through quite a bit of this law. I don't want to leave it partial in your mind. I want us to read the entire law, and the kicker is the last verse we're going to read. Numbers, chapter 5, verse 11. New Living Translation. And the Lord said to Moses, Give the following instruction to the people of Israel. Suppose a man's wife goes astray, and she's unfaithful to her husband. So God sets the stage. Okay, Moses, we're going to talk about adultery now. Okay? Moses is in God's full attention. Or God's in Moses' attention. Verse 13. Has sex with another man, but neither her husband nor anyone else knows about it.

You can see Moses' wheels grinding. Yeah, I could see how that would be a problem.

How we can't get that evil out of Israel. That's a big problem.

She has defiled herself even though there was no witness, and she was caught in the who... no witness, and she was not caught in the act. No proof. And God's law required proof. In fact, if you're going to put somebody to death, God's law required two or more witnesses, and more would have been better. Now here's a situation that nobody can judge.

Nobody can judge this one. Suspected of adultery can't prove it. Verse 14. If the husband becomes jealous and suspicious of the wife, and needs to know whether or not she has defiled herself, the husband must bring the wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering of two quarts of barley flour to be presented on her behalf. Do not mix the oil of frankincense, for it is a jealousy offering, an offering to prove whether or not she is guilty. So he had to bring an offering. It cost him money to come to the temple. This particular time it wasn't a temple, it was a tabernacle. Same idea. He had to go before the high priest, and he had to you know pay some money down. And then it says the priest will then present her to stand trial before the Lord. Okay, let's just step out of this for a second and think about it.

If a husband becomes jealous, but he can't prove it, he gets a free pass. All you got to do is bring a little bit of money to the priest, and he can bring his wife to trial. She doesn't get to do this to him, but he gets to do it to her. And it just seems unfair, doesn't it? Why would God do that to women and not to men? Well, I have some supposition on that, as we will see in just a minute.

Verse 17, he must take some holy water in the clay jar and pour it into it dust that he had taken from the tabernacle floor. This is not a magic potion of hocus pocus. This is water that the priest has prayed about and dirt. Water and dirt. You got it? Mud.

It's not magic. It's just symbolism.

The priest... Okay, let me go back a little bit. Verse 18, when the priest has presented the woman before the Lord, he must unbind her hair and place in her hands the offering of proof, the jealousy offering to determine whether or not her husband's suspicions are justified. The priest will stand before her holding the jar of bitter water that brings a curse to those who are guilty. So it isn't magic. It's a miracle. God is actually stepping in in this situation and determining guilt or innocence. This water of a little bit of dust put in water is actually going to show whether or not this woman is guilty of adultery. Verse 19, the priest will put the woman under a remote oath and say to her, No other man has had sex with you, and you have not gone astray, and defiled... or if no man has had sex with you, and you have not gone astray, and defiled yourself while under your husband's authority, you may be immune from the effects of this bitter water that will bring on the curse. But if you have gone astray by being unfaithful to your husband and have defiled yourself by having sex with another man, at this point the priest must put the woman under an oath by saying, May the people know that the Lord's curse is upon you, and he makes you infertile, causing your womb to shrivel up and your abdomen to swell. Wow! It's actually going to do physical damage to her body if she's committed adultery. Verse 22, Now may this water that brings the curse into your body and cause the abdomen to swell and your womb to shrivel, and the woman will be required to say, Yes, let it be so. Why is the woman singled out instead of the man? And why is there no test for the man? Does this not prove that God was unfair in his dealings with women in the Old Testament? Well, that's what a lot of people would say. That may be even what we think right now. Here's the kicker. Verse 31. Let's say they go through this whole thing and she's found innocent. Then what happens to the man for bringing the false charge against his wife? What happens to him? Verse 31. The husband will be innocent of any guilt in this matter, but his wife will be a caliber for her sin. What?! He gets off scot-free no matter what the outcome is. How fair is that? Now, I told you this was for the woman's benefit, not the man's. And it was. How? But brethren, can you see how this presents a problem and how we can get conceited and think, well, you know, in our modern age, we would never do that. I mean, we're so much more civil than they are. I mean, we have rights and, you know, 911 and all the things that we can do that they just didn't have. We're so much more advanced than they are. No, no, no, no, nothing new under the sun.

This applies today as much as it did back then.

There's a much more noble and loving reason behind this law. Remember, God is love, and this law is God's love. First of all, God doesn't tolerate adultery. We know that. Right? If there's adultery, both her and the male partner would be put to death.

Right? And if this proved adultery, I would imagine that would be the outcome anyway.

But ancient Israel had just come out of slavery, where they were someone else's property, where nobody had human rights, as we call them today. And when Pharaoh was afraid of the population growth, he simply ordered all the male babies to be drowned in the river. People had no rights.

So what happens when you have a society where there are no rights? Those with the power rule. Right? Men rule over women, women rule over children. The big men rule over all the other men. The mighty men are the ones in charge. Because you don't have rights. You do what I say, or you get it, so to speak. That's a society without rights. Women came out of a society where they had no rights whatsoever. Put yourself in her place. Her husband is jealous of her and suspects her of adultery. And she has no rights. What's going to happen to her? Who's going to stand up for her and prove she's innocent? Nobody. Nobody. Even the other women will likely turn against her. Good luck going to the marketplace and buying groceries. Oh, there's that woman. And this has happened through society. The woman could be subjected to beatings with no repercussion and no way to prove she's innocent. She could even be killed back in ancient Egypt. Now, God put a stop to that.

You could not maim or kill your wife. It was now illegal, which is another very loving law that protected women. But what does this law do?

Even though she can no longer be killed for being suspected of infidelity, she still would have to be subjected to an unhappy marriage the rest of her life with no means to her. She would have no way to prove her innocence. She would always be suspected of infidelity. She would always carry that around her neck the rest of her life. She would forever be shunned by society. And she would live a miserable experience, existence. She would. The woman would never be shunned by society. She would live a miserable experience, existence. She would. The man wouldn't.

And that's the way it is. I lived over in the Middle East, and I love the people over there. Very hospitable, friendly, great food. Very, very quick to throw a party and have a great time. Very sexist society. Right? Very, very.

If a woman was caught in adultery, she could be killed. If a man committed adultery over there, attaboy! Of course he did, because he's a man! That's the way it works. In a carnal human existence. And God said, heh-eh, not in my holy nation. You will not treat women that way. A, I will not tolerate adultery, period. And B, women have a right to be proven innocent. The woman was given the right to have a chance to have a good reputation, and possibly a happy marriage.

And it gave the man a just way to find out if his wife was faithful, so he didn't have to live in constant doubt. This law was absolutely fair to everybody involved. This law was revolutionary.

It was a major advancement in protecting women. It actually gave a woman legal due process, where she could be proven innocent. And before this, when they came out of slavery, if she was suspected of adultery, she was as good as dead.

So why not the man? If the man was suspected of being unfaithful, why not go to the priest? Because if the woman who was suspected of having adultery was brought before the priest, and they were proven that they did commit adultery, he would have been put to death. He would not have gotten off scot-free. This law even covered that. Brilliant! God is brilliant, so far above us. He's so many steps above us, we can't even see him.

And you know what? The man wasn't in any danger of abuse. If he was suspected of adultery, in theory, the woman somewhere would have committed adultery with him would have been found out, and he would have been busted. But you know what? He would have been able to walk out into the marketplace, do all of his transactions, and nobody would have said boo to him. And that is unfortunate, but that is true. But the woman would have been shunned even by other women. Have you read the book, The Scarlet Letter? It's a great example of that happening.

It's not a great book, but it's a great example that even women shun women when this happens. She would have had nothing, and this gave her, imagine it, think about it.

She goes to the priest and goes on trial, and she's found innocent.

And she walks out of that tabernacle, and that husband has to face everybody. You idiots! Everybody told you she didn't, but you didn't believe her. She walks with her head high. Now he's ashamed.

Now ridicule comes on him. Oh, had to bring her before the priest, did you? All the other women would be looking at him. You know, that poor woman. They would turn on him, not on her. Now this law does not create character. This law did not guarantee that the woman would have a happy life the remainder of her life. It doesn't guarantee that she would have a happy marriage. Didn't guarantee that at all. The man might just be a bitter man, right? Like Nabal back in King David's time. Nabal and Abigail.

This law did not legislate character of the heart. It simply protected a woman and gave her legal due process. And that is the love of God. God reaching down and saying, you will not oppress women. Period. We will not tolerate sin, but we will not tolerate oppression either.

That means that it applies to us today. Solomon was inspired to make the brilliant deduction that nothing was new under the sun. If you want to know how something was back in ancient times, you look at how they are today. That means the law that God wrote about a woman suspected in adultery applies or is relevant to us today. How is it relevant to us today?

We don't have a tabernacle. Look around. I'm not your high priest. Jesus Christ is.

I don't have dust of a tabernacle floor to put in a jar of water.

How does this law apply today? How do any of the laws of the Old Testament apply that you can't actually do? Brethren, I'm here to tell you, and the purpose for this sermon isn't to work this scripture out. The purpose of this sermon is for you to work out in your mind that every single thing that's written out of the Word of God is applicable to your life. Find out how it applies. Let's look at some of the things we can learn, we can glean from this law that God put in the Old Testament. Number one, incredible thing that we pull out of this law, the number one thing in my mind is, do not judge what you do, not know. And that's what human carnal thinking does. We all do it. Men and women. If we suspect that's proof, to us, they already did it. They're already guilty, and we're going to treat them as though they are guilty. And God says, no, do not judge what you do, not know. Notice in this scenario, this was something that no man could judge. There was no way to know whether or not the woman was guilty. This was a case that only God could judge.

They had to bring the woman to God. And guilt was determined by miracle, not by the priest.

This wasn't even something you can bring to the church. This was something that couldn't be judged humanly. We don't judge what we don't know, but we want to, don't we? And we tend to, don't we?

We judge other people, and we hold grudges with other people, and we don't even have proof. Oh, you meant to do it! Romans 14 and verse 4. Romans 14. Paul, who never pulls punches, says very directly, who are you to judge another man's servant? To his own master, he stands or falls. You are not my master. I am not your master. You are not your spouse's master, and your spouse is not your master. Although it can feel that way sometimes. But in the end, God is your master. Who are you to judge what you can't know?

Another man's servant. He will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. God's goal is to help people to stand. It's probably the main reason why he didn't allow us to hear other people's thoughts. He could have given us that ability. That one was completely left blank out of our senses. We do not have the ability to read the other person's thought. Our motive, if we could do that, would put them in the ground. God's motive is to make them stand before him in his kingdom forever.

We tend to judge people's motives. We're suspicious. We judge them before we even give them a chance.

That's especially true with our spouse. Do you know that your spouse is God's child? Yeah, but he or she is so stop!

Do you know that God wants your spouse to live as his child in his kingdom forever?

Do you realize that when you despise your spouse, that you are in opposition to God, your Father, your Creator, the one who wants you in his kingdom forever?

We may judge many things, but do not judge what you cannot know. Matters of the heart, motives, and intentions. You meant that. Oh, I knew it. You never loved me anyway.

God corrects us. 1 Samuel 16, verse 7. I've read this before. I will read this many times in this congregation. We need to hear this over and over and over again.

1 Samuel 16, verse 7. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or his physical stature. Who is he looking at? King David's older brother. King David, the runt, is still out in the field. And Samuel is getting ready to anoint the new king because Saul has been disqualified. Saul was an absolute failure as a king.

So God rejected him. Samuel has to go anoint a new king, and he sees King David's big brother. He says, Surely God's anointed is before me. God gives me a little backhand.

Do not look at his appearance or his physical stature because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as a man sees. There are certain things you and I can't see. But we judge them anyway. And Samuel judged them anyway. And Samuel's bad example is left here for our example to learn from. And Samuel was a decent man, and he made this mistake. You and I make it too. We're just like Samuel. We judge what we cannot possibly know.

For a man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

We can only see actions and words and expressions on the face. But we cannot see the heart, the inner motive of the man.

But we judge each other and stay away from each other anyway, as though we could have a crystal ball into that person's heart. No, you don't. The thing that I think is very poignant about this example of Samuel is this wasn't his first rodeo in judging people by appearance. He should have known not to draw the conclusion that King David's older brother was going to be the king. He should have known.

Because let's go back to 1 Samuel 10 and verse 23, where he did the same exact thing to Saul.

He should have known, and he didn't. And what does that say about you and me? Nothing's new unto the Son. If Samuel makes this mistake, we make this mistake over and over and over. And we can say it from the pulpit over and over and over, and I can say it, and Mr. Isaac can say it.

Mr. Thompson will get up and say it in different ways, and we still make this mistake.

Truth be told, I still make this mistake. I do. Samuel, this wasn't the first time you made the mistake. 1 Samuel 10, verse 23. So now he's about to anoint Saul as king. And what did Samuel say about this guy who was the first king of Israel and one of the most terrible kings of all?

So he ran and brought him from there, and when they stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. This guy was tall. And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? He was judging by what he saw.

Do you see him who the Lord has chosen? That there's no one like him among the people? How would Samuel know that? Samuel can't see his heart. There's no one like him among the people. Yeah, because he's seven feet tall. What'd he do? He had nothing to do with that.

So all the people shouted, Long live the king! And then that king goes on to make a blundering mess out of Israel. And Samuel has to find a replacement. And he goes forward, and God corrects him. He says, Stop! The guy you're looking at is not the king, because you don't see what I can see. God can see the heart. Why didn't Samuel learn his lesson? Because he's human, and judging on appearance is what we do. We can't see other people's true motives. We can only see what they do and say. But we don't see the whole picture. So this Old Testament law about a woman suspected in adultery teaches us, don't judge on our own suspicions or jealousies. Get your own motives in check. I don't see why that person got that responsibility or position. I was more qualified. You know what? They just sucked up. That's what they did. Their motive was to get ahead, but they don't really deserve it. That's what we do. And that's not right. So the lesson from the Old Testament law, first of all, is don't judge things that only God can judge. We just don't know. So leave it to God to judge. And that means that even if it goes unresolved, don't worry. God will get to it. We'll see that in just a minute. Even if you have to let an issue go unresolved, take it to God and leave it there. Move on with your life and treat people well, including that person. Point number two that we can gain from this law. A law that most people would say is ancient and archaic and sexist is actually a wonderful, loving law of God. Point number two, do not harbor anger toward someone. God will bring everyone to justice. So you don't need to. Point number two, you don't need to bring people to justice.

It's not your job.

Oftentimes, an issue requires action. We have to do something. But a lot of times, I hear people say, we need to do something about that when it's none of our business. And we only make the problem worse when we get involved. Oh, I was only trying to help.

Don't harbor anger toward someone. God knows all, sees all, and He will bring them to justice. This law about the woman suspected in adultery, God did not allow the guilty to go free. He judged whether or not the woman was an adulterous woman, and He showed whether or not she was adulterous.

No one else had the ability to determine guilt, and that happens sometimes. Sometimes you just can't know. So what do you do? You leave it to God. You don't judge it yourself. That was point one. And point two, you don't harbor anger, because God will resolve it. Trust Him to resolve it.

Nahum chapter 1 and verse 3 says very clearly, The Lord is slow to get angry, as we should be.

The Lord is slow to get angry, but His power is great, and He never lets the guilty go unpunished.

Read that again. New Living Translation. The Lord is slow to get angry, but His power is great, and He never lets the guilty go unpunished. Doesn't happen.

Oh, we need to do something about that right now. Can you prove it? No, but I know.

No, you don't. It's something we can't know. Let God handle it.

Don't burn that slow fuse inside you constantly. That'll just eat you up and destroy you.

Remove that burden from yourself. Don't harbor anger. Let God handle it. Jeremiah 30 verse 11.

God handles things so much better than we do. First, He promises to handle it, and second, He promises to handle it better than we could. Jeremiah chapter 30 and verse 11. Again, New Living Translation. For I am with you and will save you.

Remember, we read this at the beginning. God's motive is to save us.

Says the Lord, I will completely destroy the nations where I've scattered you, but I will not completely destroy you. Now, God's dealing with somebody that He's punishing. He's not dealing with somebody that He's pleased with here in the Scripture. He's talking to His children who are in trouble. A young man, you're in trouble. That's the context of this verse. And He says, I will discipline you, but with justice. You know what that word justice means?

It means with measure in context here. A lot of the translations call it with measure. In other words, I'm going to discipline you, but I'm not going to destroy you. In other words, He's doing it for your good. How do we know He's doing it for our good? How do we know God punishes for people's good? We'll read the very first statement in the verse. I will save you. That's His goal. When we punish people, our goal is usually retribution. We want to get Him back.

When God punishes people, He does it to save them.

I will discipline you, but with justice. I cannot let you go unpunished. He doesn't let things go.

But He doesn't destroy either. Pretty neat God we have. Pretty neat God.

God punishes out of love. Let's look at Proverbs chapter 3. Turn to Proverbs chapter 3 and let's read verse 11. God punishes us out of love. My son, and Paul quotes this also in Hebrews, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction, for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as the Father the Son, in whom He delights. You know, people are going to get what's coming to them. But sometimes we don't know why they did what they did, and that's important to God. And we don't even know if they did what we think they did. And that's also important to God. So in those situations, we let God judge. That's the first point. The second point is we don't harbor anger. We don't bring justice. God does. And He always does. Not on your timeline, on His. But He always does, and always will. But when He does it, He does it out of love, which is why we let Him do it, and we don't handle it.

Paul, talking to the brethren in the city of Rome, and he's dealing with conflict between Jew and Gentile in the congregation at Rome. And he nails them on judging one another. And he says in Romans chapter 3 and verse 10, this is back to the New King James, Romans 3 and verse 10, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. Who do we think we are anyway? How important are we in our own eyes that we would judge somebody else? You're not righteous. I'm not righteous. I'm forgiven. I am trying to become righteous.

But I have made gobs of mistakes, which I'm not going to tell you. And you have made gobs of mistakes, which I don't want to hear about, because I already know. There is none righteous, no, not one. Who do you think you are? Paul tells the congregation in Rome. Who do you Jews and Gentiles think you are? Judging each other. Pretty neat how you can get this out of one Old Testament law, huh? The Bible is just woven together, right? These messages are these kind of things. They're just sprinkled throughout the entire Bible.

Verse 11, there's none who understands. There's none who seek after God perfectly.

We all go astray. None of us qualify for salvation. Not one of us. So who do you think you are? Paul really nails him here, doesn't he? Verse 12, they all have turned aside. I mean, not all the time. Just that everybody has made a mistake. They all have turned aside. Every single one of us. They have together become unprofitable. There is none who does good. No, not one.

Their throat is an open tomb, and their tongue, they have practiced deceit. Now, how could that apply to us today in context of this Old Testament law? What could be deceitful about what comes off of our tongue? I'll tell you what. The things we accuse our brethren of, our family members of, that we can't possibly know, and yet we say it anyway.

If we didn't have so many guests here, I'd say a little bit more on that topic.

Okay. The poison of asps are under their lips. You know, our words are very destructive, just like a snake bite. That's what that means.

Be so, so very careful with what you say, how you complain.

Check your motives at the door. Verse 14, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Our mouth should not be that way.

A good rule of thumb, a good rule of thumb, is be thankful for what you have, not envious of what you don't have. And that'll help you not have bitterness on your tongue.

Right? Why did they do me that way? Why do they have what I don't have? Why is this motive? Why is that? Look at what you have. And don't covet what you don't.

Their feet are swift to shed blood. They take action, buddy. We're gonna get them.

We're gonna get justice. That's feet swift to shed blood.

God will bring justice for things you cannot judge. If you don't know, don't go. Mr. Petty used to say that to us all the time. His father said it to him. If you don't know, don't go. But their feet are quick. They're quick to go after somebody else.

Destruction and misery are in their ways. And this is the point of reading this scripture.

This is the point. And the way of peace they have not known. There is a way. God's life is a way. It's not just coming to church on the Sabbath. It's becoming a certain way. You live and you become this way. And it is a way of peace.

And if you have bitterness on your lips and you are swift to go get people, even when you don't have the facts, you are not part of the way. And I give this sermon to encourage us to become part of the way. The way of peace. Know the way.

And one of the ways that you can learn and understand the way is to go all the way back to the Old Testament and look at these little obscure laws that seem so out of touch.

And find out that they're awesome, balanced, loving, brilliant laws.

When we judge others' motives, when we think we know what people did but we don't have proof, we don't know the way of peace. Let God handle it. Ephesians 4, verse 26.

Ephesians 4, verse 26. The Apostle Paul tells the brethren in Ephesus to let it go.

Please don't start singing a Disney song. Ephesians 4, verse 26. And don't sin by letting anger control you. New Living Translation, by the way. Don't sin by letting anger control you.

Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry. You know that law is for you so much more than it's for the person you're angry at? Because chances are they've already forgiven themselves.

You're the one who's still hurting. Oh, this law helps the other person, too. It really does. If a husband and wife cannot be angry with each other when the sun goes down, it's a lot better night for both of them. So let the anger calm down, deal with each other, and get on with your lives. Get on with happiness. Don't bear that burden of anger. Don't let it control you. At some point, it becomes a sin.

Wasn't that a neat deduction that Solomon was inspired to write? That there's nothing new under the sun? You can go back and read the Old Testament, and when you're reading through it, skip over things. We do it all the time. I was talking to Gail Smith, and it's easy for us to skip over the names and those genealogies back then. But then you go to read prophecies, and you have no idea who they're talking about in the prophecies. But had you paid attention to the genealogies in the Old Testament, you would know exactly who they're talking about in the prophecies of the New Testament.

And this is similar as well. When we skip over those archaic laws that we think are archaic and out of date for our modern age, we miss so much. We miss so many moral applications that help us know the way of peace. God's law is chock full of the way of peace. That's why we can see how King David wrote, oh how I love your law. Isn't God amazing? So much smarter than we are. So worthy of being worshipped and trusted and followed. So I encourage you to find out what those laws meant to them back in the Old Testament. What lesson did they learn and apply those lessons to you today? The Old Testament is relevant. Every single law has an application, at least in principle, in your life today in 2017. Love the law of God.