Christians are often accused of cherry-picking when it comes to observing some commandments that God gave us.
In Leviticus 18:22, the Bible says, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” However, in Leviticus 19:19, the Bible says, “You shall not…wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.” As Christians, we openly condemn homosexuality, yet hardly anyone observes the “mixed materials” law. So, are we cherry-picking?
For Holy Use
On the mixed materials, there is a parallel passage in Deuteronomy that reads:
“You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled…You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together.”
Deuteronomy 22:9, 11
Instead of the word “defiled”, some Bible translations say “separated” or “forfeited to the sanctuary”. In other words, the fruit from a field sown with mixed seeds could make the fruit suitable for use only by the services of the sanctuary. We get the idea then, that this mixing of seeds and mixing of materials has something to do with the holiness of the sanctuary.
Sanctuary Materials
In the Old Testament sanctuary system, God instructed that certain sanctuary items be made from a mixture of materials. In Exodus 26:1, for example, He said, “you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread.” Here we have woven linen being mixed with thread. So, mixing materials was not inherently wrong. But mixed materials were to be used only in the sanctuary.
This same principle is applied to an anointing oil for the priests serving in the sanctuary and for a special perfumed incense for the sanctuary. Of this perfumed incense, God instructed,
But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the Lord. Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.
Exodus 30:37-38
God instructed that the sanctuary be made from special components. He prohibited His people from copying those special components for personal use. He did this to maintain a sense of reverence and respect for the holiness of the earthly sanctuary and its services.
A Sanctuary in Heaven
Hebrews 8:1 and 2 says “We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.”
We no longer have an earthly sanctuary or priests on earth serving in that sanctuary. Jesus is our only Priest and He is serving in the heavenly sanctuary. When Jesus came to earth, the earthly sanctuary services came to an end. So also, the laws in respect of the sanctuary services also came to an end including the laws about the anointing oils, mixed seeds, perfumes and mixed materials.
But the laws about homosexuality still apply, even being repeated in the New Testament: “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God…Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals” 1 Corinthians 6:9. Jesus is serving in the sanctuary in heaven so that anyone who is caught up in any sexual sin, or any sin whatsoever, can be forgiven and be given victory over that sin.
We are not cherry-picking.