2 Thessalonians 3 – In his final letter, Paul encourages the believers of the Thessalonian church to remain true and steadfast to the authentic faith they were taught. Evidently, some in the church were doing nothing while …
1 Timothy
13 posts
Titus 1 – Parenting is not an easy task. It involves incredible commitment, unyielding problem-solving, and loads of diapers. Parenting exposes so many of your own flaws as you begin to see the quality level of your …
2 Timothy 3 – We have already seen it mentioned times over the last several chapters, but Paul once again is warning Timothy of the godlessness which will take place in the future. The identifying characteristic for …
1 Timothy 6 – Paul bookends this letter by circling back to his thoughts from 1 Timothy 1. In that chapter, he introduced the problem Timothy was facing at Ephesus which was the deceptive doctrine of false …
1 Timothy 5 – Through Jesus’ sacrifice and forgiveness, we enter into a new relationship with God. As our father, He loves us unconditionally and leads us into truth and light. The point is, it is Jesus …
1 Timothy 4 – Expect turmoil. Expect opposition. Expect deception. These are the difficult expectations Paul lays out to Timothy and the church. His choice of language is certain. He doesn’t write that some might depart, but …
1 Timothy 3 – Paul moves from congregational conduct to leadership. There are two offices he addresses: the overseer and the deacon. Today, we would call an overseer a pastor and a deacon an elder. The difference …
1 Timothy 2 – As a child, I would sometimes hear my parents say, “As long as you are under this roof, you will live by our guidelines.” Every parent must choose how they will govern their …
1 Timothy 1 – The Same Old False Doctrine Paul comes out swinging against false teachers. We find out in 2 Timothy that they were teaching a Gospel contrary to the early apostles. Specifically, they were teaching …
1 Corinthians 6 – Paul’s had some specific issues with the Corinthians in regard to legal matters. First and foremost, the disputes in question were between two believers. Paul is working under the assumption that Jesus has …
Psalm 82 – Psalm 81 is one of those chapters that is difficult to understand without digging deeper into the context. At a glance, it may seem confusing that God refers to magistrates, judges, and other people …
Psalm 72 – Psalm 72 is considered a royal psalm and coronation hymn. It presents the job description of the King in song form. Modern-day readers are tempted to gloss over the details and view the writing …
[bible passage="Deuteronomy 23" version="ESV"]
Deuteronomy 23 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
As we’ve written many times in Deuteronomy, these laws can seem foreign to us. In some ways, they prescribe almost an ascetic type of lifestyle. Asceticism is defined as a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. It sounds good on the surface, but can be dangerous to a believer. Paul writes about this in his letter to Timothy.
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.
1 Timothy 4:1-5 NASB
The laws given by God were required for the holiness and protection of His people, but they also could become a stumbling block when taken to the extreme. Not surprisingly, this is exactly what happened later with the religious leaders as they piled all kinds of ridiculous laws upon the people.
The most glaring character trait of someone who has embraced religion over relationship is their lack of joy. Often, legalistic people will go to any means to preserve their own man-made laws and practices. Again, just take the religious leaders as an example. Jesus came to show them the heart of God through grace, mercy, and forgiveness and they plotted with false accusations to have Him killed. They did this because their rules and authority were being threatened.
Legalistic people today are often the meanest gossips. They go around biting at others who threaten their “authority” and have zero interest in feeling compassion for others. This is the result of someone who attempts to find their spiritual identity in the law. It cannot save; it only reveals sin.
We must remember that while the law is important, the church was established on the doctrine of grace and truth. Jesus died so that we would know love and make that the foundation of our lives.