But You Mix Your Fabrics

by Terry Wane Benton

Often, those who want to justify their ignoring the Bible on sexual sins will retort with how silly the Bible is and how inconsistent we are since the same book said not to mix your fabrics or not to eat lobster or pork! So, if you can justify ignoring these laws, then maybe there is something wrong with your Bible or you rather than gays and trans people. Let’s address this matter!

First, there is nothing wrong with the Bible. It is the word of God and profitable for correction (even the above misunderstanding) and instruction in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16-17). The problem is that people don’t “handle aright the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).

The food laws and fabric laws were for Israel, not all nations. The Old Testament to Israel contained the food and fabric laws, not as issues of moral right, but as “shadows” (dark form illustrations) of a spiritual substance or counterpart of spiritual things in the coming spiritual kingdom. Such things were “imposed until the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:1-17). Now that the time of reformation has arrived, no one is to judge us regarding those foods and Sabbaths (Colossians 2:11-17).

Fabrics fall into that same category of shadow things. It made sense for God to impose the food and fabric laws on Israel for shadowy purposes. It was temporary, “until the time of reformation,” and used physical means to build toward spiritual concepts. The nation of Israel was earthly with earthly temple, priesthood, food laws, and fabric laws, etc. These earthly things prepared the way to illustrate spiritual concepts, such as a spiritual or heavenly nation, a spiritual temple, spiritual priests, spiritual food, and spiritual clothing. Once we had the spiritual greater things, we entered the new and better covenant, where we no longer practice the shadows of the Old Law.

The food and fabric laws are dropped in the new time of reformation, but the moral laws are repeated in the new (Romans 1:20-32; Colossians 2:13-3:10). Homosexual behavior, adultery, and fornication are moral sins in both testaments. So, there is nothing inconsistent with the Bible. The problem is that people wanting to justify their sin do not know the Bible or how to “handle aright the word of truth.” Handling the two testaments correctly and incorrectly is where most misunderstandings divide people.