Thoughts by Theophilus

[theophilus]

There are many lists of the most popular Christmas carols. The lists differ from each other but Joy to the World can be found on almost all of them.

This hymn shouldn’t be on any of these lists because it isn’t about Christmas at all. It is about the future return of Christ.

It was written by Isaac Watts and is based of Psalm 98.

Oh sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!

His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.

The LORD has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.

He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!

With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!

Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
before the LORD, for he comes
to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

The psalm is a description of what will happen when God judges the earth. When Jesus was born he didn’t come as a judge but as a savior. That is the meaning of his name.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
Matthew 1:21 ESV

Jesus came to die for our sins so we could be forgiven. After he rose and returned to Heaven he sent the Holy Spirit to give his followers the power they needed to preach the message of forgiveness to the whole world.

The present age of preaching the gospel won’t last forever. Christ will return to judge the earth and establish his kingdom here. If you examine the words of Joy to the World you will find that it describes what will happen then, not what happened when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Joy to the world! The Lord has come:
let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare him room
and heaven and nature sing.

When Jesus was born wise men from the East came looking for him because they knew he was king of the Jews but Herod tried to have him killed. Jesus is in fact King but the world doesn’t yet acknowledge that fact.

Joy to the world! the Savior reigns:
let men their songs employ
while fields and floods rocks hills and plains
repeat the sounding joy.

Today Jesus reigns only over those who have turned to him for salvation. The rest of the world rejects him.

No more let sins and sorrows grow
nor thorns infest the ground:
he comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found.

Since sin entered the world the whole world has been under a curse. The existence of thorns and harmful plants is a symptom of that curse. This didn’t change when Jesus was born but it will when he returns.

He rules the earth with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness
and wonders of his love.

Those who put their faith in Christ experience truth and grace on a personal level but in the world as a whole they are extremely rare.


Since Joy to the World is about Christ’s return rather than his birth it is appropriate to sing it any time of the year and not just during the Christmas season.

[theophilus]

The Westboro Baptist Church is famous for its public protests and demonstrations in which many of the participants carry signs saying “God hates fags.” The name of the church’s website is godhatesfags.com.

Are they right? Does God hate fags?

There is some truth in what they say. It is a sin for two people of the same gender to engage in sexual activity. But Westboro is guilty of two errors about this subject.

The first is to focus exclusively on this sin and ignore others. Here is what the Bible says.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV

Homosexual practice is a sin but it is only one of many sins that will keep a person out of God’s kingdom. There is no indication that it is worse than any other sin and it isn’t even first on this list. As far as I know Westboro has never publicly protested any of the other sins.

The other error is to imply that those guilty of this sin can never be forgiven. The quotation above is immediately followed by this statement

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV

Those who are guilty of homosexual sin can be forgiven just as those who commit any other sin can.

Westboro Baptist Church claims to speak for God but instead teaches lies that contradict what He has actually said. This makes them guilty of a sin that is far worse than the one they condemn. This raises another question: Does God hate Westboro Baptist Church?

Before his conversion the apostle Paul was guilty of the same kind of sin Westboro is comitting. He did evil and claimed that in doing so he was obeying God. In spite of this he was forgiven.

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:12-16 ESV

If Paul could be forgiven, so can the members of Westboro Baptist Church.

Does God hate fags? The answer is no. And he doesn’t hate Westboro Baptist Church either.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:16-17

But he does hate their sins and all who refuse to repent and put their trust in Jesus Christ will face God’s judgment.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 3:18 ESV

Here is a good place to learn what the Bible really teaches about homosexuality.

http://truefreedomtrust.co.uk/

[theophilus]

My new year’s resolution for 2014 is to move out of Ephesus.

I mean this in a spiritual rather than a geographic sense. The second chapter of Revelation begins with Jesus telling John to write a letter to the church in Ephesus.

He commended them for the good they were doing.

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.
Revelation 2:2-3 ESV

Then he pointed out an area of failure.

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Revelation 2:4-5 ESV

The severity of the threatened penalty shows the seriousness of their failure.

I am like the Ephesians. I spend a lot of time and energy trying to serve God and carry out his work but I neglect spending time simply getting to know him better. Martha and Mary illustrate the difference between what I am and what God wants me to be.

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42 ESV

Right now I am like Martha. This year I intend to try to become more like Mary.

[theophilus]

Shortly before his crucifixion Jesus gave this command to his disciples.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
John 13:34 ESV

In order to carry out this command we must take a look at how Jesus loves us. There are two places where he describes his love.

The first one is well known.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13 ESV

Jesus showed his love for us by giving his life so that our sins could be forgiven; we must be willing to sacrifice our lives for other Christians if it is necessary. Very few of us will ever be in a situation where we need to literally give our lives but if we are willing to do so then we shouldn’t hesitate to make lesser sacrifices such as time, work, and possessions.

There is another description of his love which is often over looked.

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
Revelation 3:19 ESV

If we are to love as he loves there are times when we too must reprove and discipline. The Bible gives us two examples of how to do this.

The first is found in his letter to the church of Thyatira.

But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
Revelation 2:20 ESV

We must not tolerate false teaching.

The second is found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
1 Corinthians 5:1 ESV

We must not tolerate sin.

We live in a society in which tolerance is considered a supreme virtue. Tolerance and love are often regarded as synonymous. The fact that Jesus commanded his followers to love but here reproves them for tolerance shows that they are very different.

Tolerance is passive. It allows people to live as they wish without imposing restrictions on them. Love is active. It requires that our treatment of others should be motivated by their welfare.

Most of the time loving others also means being tolerant. We should allow others the freedom to be themselves and live as they want to. There is one limit to this freedom. They must not be allowed to teach or do things that will harm them or others. When this happens we are forced to choose between tolerance and love. At times like this true love is always intolerant.

Tolerance is good as long as it is guided and controlled by love. Tolerance without love can easily become indifference. We can end up allowing people to live any way they want because we don’t really care what happens to them.

Everyone knows that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Very few realize that the road to Hell is also paved with tolerance.

[theophilus]

God commands parents to teach their children the Bible.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ESV

There are people who don’t believe the Bible and don’t think it should be taught to children. Some claim that parents who teach their children the Bible are brainwashing them. Those who make this claim are right; teaching children the Bible is brainwashing them.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.
Ephesians 5:25-26 ESV

One effect of the word of God is to wash things.

We live in a world that is filled with physical dirt of many kinds and children can’t help being exposed to it. Parents need to make sure their children’s bodies are cleaned with water when they become dirty.

The world is also filled with moral and spiritual dirt and children’s brains become filled with temptations and false beliefs. Good parents not only make sure their children’s bodies are kept clean but also teach them the Bible so that their minds and brains will be clean.

Children aren’t the only ones who need to be brainwashed. Adults are also affected by the moral climate in which we live. I have found that to counteract the effects of this environment I need to spend time every day brainwashing myself by studying the Bible.

[theophilus]

There is a war going on between God and Satan. When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a soldier in God’s army and a participant in that war. In order to wage war effectively we must know who our enemy is.

When we look at what is going on in the world we see many who are doing and advocating things that violate God’s commands. Some believe that women should have the absolute right to kill their unborn children. Others believe there is nothing wrong with homosexual activity and that the government should allow marriages between two people of the same sex. Militant Muslims use force to impose their beliefs on others.

These people are not the ones we are fighting.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12 ESV

Unbelievers are under Satan’s control and are tools that he uses to carry out his program.

If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ESV

One of the things Jesus did while on earth was to give sight to the blind. When we encounter people who are spiritually blind our response should be not to condemn them but to try to open their spiritual eyes with the message of salvation. Here is how to do it.

The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 ESV

Every time an unbeliever turns from his sins and puts his faith in Christ we win a victory over Satan.

[theophilus]

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
Colossians 2:16-17 ESV

The nation of Israel was established by God to be the means of bringing Christ into the world so that he could atone for our sins by his death. God gave Israel a system of laws that included animal sacrifices, dietary laws, and the observance of special days. These laws were symbols of what Christ would do; they have served their purpose we are no longer required to follow them.

Today there is another God given practice that is a symbol of something that is still in the future: marriage.

Marriage does serve a purpose in this life.

Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.
Malachi 2:15 ESV

But it does more than that. It is also a symbol of the relationship between God and his worshippers.

For your Maker is your husband,
the LORD of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
Isaiah 54:5 ESV

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Ephesians 5:22-24 ESV

Like the Old Testament ceremonial laws it is shadow of something that is still in the future.

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
Revelation 19:6-8 ESV

The Bride spoken of here is the Church, which is made up of all whose sins have been forgiven because they put their faith in Christ. This is the real Marriage; the marriages that exist today are only pictures to help us understand what it will be like.

Many people never marry. Some of them are disappointed and feel that failure to marry means that their lives are failures. If you are one of these people remember that marriage in this life is only a picture of something better. If you put your faith in Christ you will experience the reality and in the end the fact that you missed out on the shadow won’t matter.

Some people don’t marry because they are gay and unable to be part of a heterosexual relationship. Advocates of legalizing same sex marriage claim that doing so would establish a state of marriage equality between gays and straights but they overlook one thing. When our relationship with God is compared with marriage God is the male partner and his followers are the female. A union between two men or two women isn’t an accurate picture of this relationship.

Marriage equality is a goal that is impossible to achieve in this life but for Christians it will be a reality in the next one. All believers, whether they are gay or straight, will be part of the true marriage which will take place when Christ returns to the earth. The best way to promote marriage equality for gays is to tell them how to be saved so they will be part of that future marriage.

[theophilus]

A physician who has made a complete examination of a person without having been told his age could probably make an accurate estimate of it because of his knowledge of how the aging process works. But what would happen if he were to travel back in time and examine Adam and Eve immediately after they were created and was then asked to estimate their age? If he didn’t know they had been created directly he would assume they had been born as babies and base his estimate on how long it would take for them to reach their present state if they had undergone the normal aging process. The result would be that his estimate would be much higher than their actual age.

Scientists who try to discover the age of the earth begin by assuming that the natural processes which are occurring now have always been going. They have come to the conclusion that the earth is billions of years old because that is how long it would take for these processes to bring about the conditions we see existing today. But what if the Biblical account of creation is true? Then scientists who try to measure the earth’s age are in the same position as the doctor who tried to estimate the age of Adam and Eve. Their age estimates are off because they have a false idea of how the earth came into existence.

Science can tell us a lot about the world we live in but when we try to find out about its past scientific methods alone can’t give us all the information we need. We need historical information as well. Did the earth come into existence as a result of natural processes or was it created by God? Was there ever a worldwide flood? We must know the answers to both of these questions in order to correctly interpret the data that we observe.

There is scientific evidence that the earth can’t be as old as most people believe. One example is finding soft tissue in the bones of dinosaurs that supposedly lived millions of years ago. This is from an article titled “Soft Tissue in Fossils” in the October 2012 issue of Answers magazine.

Ask the average layperson how he or she knows that the earth is millions or billions of years old, and that person will probably mention the dinosaurs, which nearly everybody “knows” died off 65 million years ago. A recent discovery by Dr. Mary Schweitzer, however, has given reason for all but committed evolutionists to question this assumption.

Bone slices from the fossilized thigh bone (femur) of a Tyrannosaurus rex found in the Hell Creek formation of Montana were studied under the microscope by Schweitzer. To her amazement, the bone showed what appeared to be blood vessels of the type seen in bone and marrow, and these contained what appeared to be red blood cells with nuclei, typical of reptiles and birds (but not mammals). The vessels even appeared to be lined with specialized endothelial cells found in all blood vessels.

Amazingly, the bone marrow contained what appeared to be flexible tissue. Initially, some skeptical scientists suggested that bacterial biofilms (dead bacteria aggregated in a slime) formed what only appear to be blood vessels and bone cells. Recently Schweitzer and coworkers found biochemical evidence for intact fragments of the protein collagen, which is the building block of connective tissue. This is important because collagen is a highly distinctive protein not made by bacteria. (See Schweitzer’s review article in Scientific American [December 2010, pp. 62–69] titled “Blood from Stone.”)

Soft tissue couldn’t have survived for such a long time so this is evidence that previous estimates of the age of the world must be wrong. Unfortunately belief that the world is old is so strong that most scientists ignore or try to explain away the evidence rather than changing their theories to conform to the evidence.

Some evolutionists have strongly criticized Schweitzer’s conclusions because they are understandably reluctant to concede the existence of blood vessels, cells with nuclei, tissue elasticity, and intact protein fragments in a dinosaur bone dated at 68 million years old. Other evolutionists, who find Schweitzer’s evidence too compelling to ignore, simply conclude that there is some previously unrecognized form of fossilization that preserves cells and protein fragments over tens of millions of years. Needless to say, no evolutionist has publically considered the possibility that dinosaur fossils are not millions of years old.

The existence of soft dinosaur tissue isn’t the only evidence that the earth is young. You can read about some of the other evidence here.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v7/n4/ten-best-evidences

Everywhere in the world we find fossils of life forms that no longer exist. The Bible tells us that God sent a flood that covered the entire world; this would explain the existence of these fossils. Those who reject the idea of divine intervention claimed that the fossils were formed gradually over millions of years.

The fact that fossils contain soft tissue is evidence in favor of a flood. There is also historical evidence. Here is what Wikipedia says.

The Flood myths or deluge myths are, taken collectively, stories surviving from human prehistory, of a great flood which has generally been taken as mythical. These legends depict global flooding, usually sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution. Flood stories are common across a wide range of cultures, extending back into prehistory.

The fact that flood stories are found in all cultures is evidence that the flood really happened.

Those who believe the earth is young are often accused of rejecting science. In fact those who claim the earth is old are using scientific methods to answer what is really a historical question.

The belief that earth is billions of years old has become such an integral part of our culture that even Christians who believe the Bible is true accept the prevailing beliefs and try to interpret the creation account in Genesis to make it conform to those beliefs.

The Bible says that the world was created in six days. The only way to reconcile the Bible with a belief that the earth is billions of years old is to claim that there aren’t literal days. The word day can mean something else besides a literal day; it is necessary to examine the context to see what it does mean. It sometimes means an indefinite period of time and it is used in that way in referring to the entire creation period.

These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
Genesis 2:4 ESV

But what about the individual days? Here is the description of the first one.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Genesis 1:3-5 ESV

Each day consisted of an evening and a morning and included a period of light and one of darkness. This could only be a literal day, the time during which the earth turns once on its axis.


(Some people insist these were 24 hour days. I think it is possible that the days were 21 minutes longs than our present days. You can see here why I think this:


http://clydeherrin.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/how-long-were-the-days/


Regardless of their length, they were literal days.)


When telling what would happen in the future Jesus said,

False christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:24

Those who believe the earth is old have accomplished something that Jesus said false christs and false prophets won’t be able to do. They have deceived the elect.


Here are sites where you can find more evidence that the generally accepted beliefs regarding the earth’s origins are wrong.


http://www.allaboutcreation.org/


http://www.piltdownsuperman.com/


http://scienceagainstevolution.info/

[theophilus]

Here is what Wikipedia says about the shroud of Turin.

The Shroud of Turin is a length of linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. There is no consensus yet on exactly how the image was created, and it is believed by many to be the burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth.

Scientists have studied the shroud and haven’t been able to determine whether or not the image is that of Jesus but there is another way to answer the question. That is to study what the Bible says about what Jesus was buried in and see if it matches the description of the shroud. John’s gospel give us the information we need.

First it describes how the body was prepared for burial.

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
John 19:38-40 ESV

Then it tells us what was found in the tomb after the resurrection.

So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.
John 20:3-7 ESV

The Bible says that the body of Jesus was wrapped in linen cloths and his face was covered with a linen cloth. Here is Wikipedia’s description of the shroud.

The shroud is rectangular, measuring approximately 4.4 x 1.1 m (14.3 x 3.7).

Jesus was not buried in a shroud at all but his body was wrapped in cloths. There is no possibility that the shroud of Turin is the shroud of Jesus.

[theophilus]

Plato wrote of a conversation between Socrates and a man named Euthyphro in which this question was raised: Does God command us to do things because they are good or are they good because God commands them? Many people feel that either answer creates a problem. If God commands us to do things because they are good that implies that there is a standard of goodness independent of God to which he must conform. If the things God commands are good because he commands them then good and evil exist only because of God’s arbitrary decision to call certain thing good and others evil. This problem is known as the Euthyphro dilemma.

The Bible reveals that there are commands in both of these categories: God commands some things because they are good and others are good because God commands them.

The Bible declares that God is good. A person is considered good when his life and character conform to an external standard of goodness. God isn’t subject to any external standard. It is his character that defines goodness. For example, he cannot lie, so that means that lying is evil. He is loving, so that means that love is good. His moral commands are based on his character and can be summarized in two commands.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.
Luke 10:27 ESV

The Bible records many acts by God that don’t seem to be good. He sent a flood that destroyed all life except Noah and his family and the animals that were with him in the ark. He ordered the extermination of all of the inhabitants of Canaan. He often ordered the deaths of individuals and groups.


Those who call these acts evil don’t realize that goodness requires not only doing what is good but doing all that is possible to eliminate what is evil. Humans have sinned against God and because he is good he must punish all sin. This explains why it was necessary for Christ to die for our sins before we can be forgiven. God must punish our sins and we can only be forgiven if someone else takes the punishment we deserve.

Just as God does what is necessary to rid his creation of evil he commands us to do what is necessary to rid our lives of evil.

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Matthew 5:29-30 ESV

Since sin originates in the mind rather than in our physical bodies this command isn’t to be literally obeyed but is a metaphorical way of saying we must purge our lives of anything that would tempt us to sin or make it easier to sin. A literal expression of this command is found in Romans 13:13,14.

Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

In addition to establishing moral standards that apply to everyone and never change God also gives commands to specific individuals and groups. Here is one example of such a command:

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”
Genesis 12:1 ESV

Leaving your home and going to another country is an act that is morally neutral and not intrinsically right or wrong. When God commanded Abram to do this it ceased to be morally neutral but was a command Abram must choose to obey or disobey. It was good because God commanded it and since it was given only to Abram he was the only one required to obey it.

The laws that God gave to Israel through Moses included commands of both kinds. It incorporated God’s moral laws but also included laws ceremonial and dietary laws that only applied to Israel. Many of these laws were pictures of what Christ would do and were only intended to remain in effect until he came.

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
Colossians 2:16-17 ESV

We can’t interpret the Bible correctly unless we understand the between these two kinds of commands.