Results 1 - 3 of 3
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Biblical views on castration | Matt 19:12 | MJH | 185301 | ||
You mention that the New Testament replaces the Old Testament and then quote a verse that says the very opposite. Matt 5:17-19 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Jesus did not come to put away or do away or replace the [Old Testament] but to [Do it completely]. Jesus came and lived it perfectly. In fact He was the Torah in flesh. But He never says that it is null and void. In fact the very next verse says "whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments...will be called least in the Kingdom." What you just stated was that Jesus Himself annulled not just the least, but the whole thing. Is He least in His own Kingdom? Thankfully it will only render many Christians "least" in the Kingdom, and not left out. And by "least" Jesus does not refer to some future punishment or place in line, but that because they annul the commands, they will not experience the true fullness of the Kingdom now, here, in this life and the next. Because they ignore some of the Law, they miss out on all God has for them. As far as castration is concerned, the Bible prohibited the castrated person from entering the Temple because of this deformity. God uses such pictures to demonstrate who He is, Holy. If being castrated meant being separated from God Himself (which it did not in the Old or New Testament) then why does Philip teach and baptize the eunuch in Acts 8? Romans 8:1-3 doesn't apply to the eunuch because being a eunuch was not a sin, it was simply of state of being. MJH MJH |
||||||
2 | Biblical views on castration | Matt 19:12 | Timaeus | 185338 | ||
The major problem with being a eunuch or someone who was blemished in any way according to the judgments in Leviticus 21:20 was that it made a male unworthy to worship in the temple near the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This law was established by the same being who became Jesus the Christ some 1500 years later in the times of the Romans. Now Jesus instructed the people in Matthew 19:12 that being a eunuch is sometimes better in the same way that it is better for an unmarried individual as both can devote their whole being on the study of God's Word and the development of His Way as they do not get tangled up in pleasing a mate or be driven to sin because of their sexual appetites as he was trying to explain. But he qualifies this teaching with the admonition that it is only for those that it is given by the Father to be able too this. Of course he did not mean that humans should stop procreating within the marriage covenant or none of us would be alive today. The idea that even a eunuch could be baptized and close to God and be begotten into God's family shows the impartiality of our Father in all things. It also shows the better covenant in Jesus and why the old covenant became obsolete in some things. To show his impartial treatment of slaves read the book of Philemon which in a nutshell says that both the slave master and the slave are equal in the sight of God and each should be respectful to the other. This was an unheard of concept in that culture and is not readily understood even today. For the most part this practice is not openly done in the modern world and it is unfortunate when some have had accidents or are born with congenital deformities but they are not left out of God's family because of it. We should all remember to thank God for the things He has seen fit to give us as well as the things he has not, "...blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21) In His service and yours, Tim |
||||||
3 | Biblical views on castration | Matt 19:12 | srbaegon | 185340 | ||
Hello Tim, I would offer one point of clarification to your post. The blemish of Lev 21:20 did not make them unworthy to worship, but it prevented them from acting as priests. So for instance, they could bring a sacrifice for worship, but they could not offer the sacrifice themselves. Steve |
||||||