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How dare you tell someone what they can and cannot do with their own body? How dare you tell someone that their desires are either acceptable or inappropriate. How dare you tell someone that what they feel deeply is not who they are? How dare you say to someone that their understanding of morality is wrong?

There is an answer to such questions: love. It is not hate; it is love. Love for the Lord and love for neighbor requires that those who follow the Lord tell the truth about issues that have society in a state of constant conflict.

Romans 13:8-10

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

God commands us to love. In fact, as Paul writes under inspiration to the Roman church, he calls on the church to owe no debt at all except the debt of love. Jesus himself said that the second greatest commandment, the one just after loving God with everything you’ve got, is to love your neighbor as yourself.

Sadly, we have become a society that cannot receive any limitation as love. We have developed a cultural mindset that suggests that any criticism of any person’s internal desires or any questioning of a person’s internal “reality’ is considered hateful and harmful. But we must grasp that such thinking is not old but new, not based on objective truth but on internal feeling, and certainly not from God.

While society around us would say that the way to love a person is to accept anything they believe about themselves and anything they desire to do, the word of God equates loving them with the law of God. Paul summarizes the latter portion of the Ten Commandments with a simple call to love your neighbor as yourself. This means that God sees limiting human behavior, even calling people to oppose sinful desires, as love, not hate. God’s laws, God’s ways, God’s standards are tied to the love of God. While many among mankind bristle at this truth, God has never changed it to accommodate our inborn rebellion against him.

Love is the fulfillment of the law. But love is not the rejection of the standards of God in order to make a person feel better about themselves. No Christian can love another person and support them in actions or choices that lead to destruction. If it is true that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23), then an application of the standards of God to point out that sin and to turn people from it is loving. Of course, we know that no person is saved through obedience to the law (Rom 3:20), but this does not mean we ignore the word of God. Instead, we bring the word and ways of God to bear on a life to help others see their deep need for a Savior and to help them to do less harm to themselves in this life. We believe that the God who created us knows what will harm us even when we do not agree. And we know that the God who made us has provided the only possible Savior who can rescue all of us from our sins.

Christian friends, do not be ashamed of the word and the ways of God. Even if proclaiming the word of God puts us out-of-step with a culture that celebrates wickedness. Never be cruel. Never be hateful. Never be nasty. Just tell the truth like Jesus. Just lift up the words of God like Jesus. Just call people to repent and believe like Jesus called them to do. You owe others a debt to love your neighbor as yourself. You cannot fulfill that debt without the gospel. And you cannot fulfill that debt ignoring the law of God.

For most modern Americans, reading a text like Leviticus is strange. We see so much about sacrifices and offerings, food restrictions and dress codes. Many people shut down, finding the book impossible to navigate. Many believe they simply cannot relate.

But, before we shut down from such a text, perhaps it would do us good to look at some powerful things we can learn in the law. After all, God inspired and preserved this text for our own sanctification (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16-17), even when we are not required to practice these things any longer.

In Leviticus 16, we read of the scapegoat and the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement was a sacred day when the high priest would make sacrifices for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He would use the blood of the slain animal to cleanse the tabernacle and later the temple in order that the Lord would continue to be present with his people, and the sacred objects would continue to be effective in the work they were made to do.

In the Day of Atonement, God commanded that two goats be brought forward and chosen at random for two different roles.

Leviticus 16:8-10

8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.

Here we see that two goats are brought before the high priest. Each of them has a role to pay an atoning for the sins of the nation and keeping them as a people in the favor of God. One goat will be a sacrifice. The other will be the scapegoat.

As a quick note, because I’m using the ESV, the word “Azazel” appears in this passage. Other translations use the word “scapegoat.” This difference is simply the ESV translators not translating an obscure word. Azazel probably refers to a terrifying and lonely wilderness place, a place where demons are thought to dwell. The goat sent to such a place is the scapegoat.

Leviticus 16:15

“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.

The goat that was the sacrifice is easy for us to understand. It is killed. The blood of the sacrifice then can be used to show that the price of death has been paid for the sins of the people. Sprinkling the blood on the tabernacle furniture indicates that the atonement of that death has been applied to the sacred objects so that they can continue to function.

But what about the scapegoat?

Leviticus 16:20-22

20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

This second goat is brought to the priest and does not die. One might think this is showing the goats as opposites—one good and one bad. But this is not the case. The scapegoat has the sins of the people confessed over it, symbolically placed upon it. Then the goat is driven away from the people into the wilderness.

Now, all that history is fascinating. It is neat to know that this is how the people of Israel functioned on the Day of Atonement. But does this really say something to a Christian? After all, Jesus atoned for our sin. Unlike the high priest, Jesus did not need a sacrifice to be made for himself. Unlike the atonement offering, Jesus did not have to repeatedly make an offering. Jesus did this perfectly, once and for all. That is one of the key points of the book of Hebrews. So we do not go through this process anymore.

But consider for a moment the consequence of sin as we see it illustrated with the goats of Leviticus 16. Two things happen because of the sin of the people—death and exile. One goat is slaughtered, because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). The other goat is driven away from the presence of God, because the Lord is holy and will not allow sin in his presence. Sin earns death. Sin drives people from their only hope for joy. And hell is the combination of both of these things. Hell is eternal death and eternal separation from any hope of life or joy.

When we see such things, two responses are appropriate. It is appropriate to see what is depicted here and understand the utter sinfulness of sin. We need to be a God-loving, sin-hating people. There is nothing about sin that is a small deal. While all of us are guilty of sin, this does not make its importance and impact any less. If sin kills us and drives us from God, we must learn to hate it.

Second, we should have incredible gratitude for the work of Jesus. Jesus came and did what we could never do. He came and played the role of the sacrifice and the scapegoat while on the cross. Jesus took the punishment of death and the pain of the wrath of God on our account. Jesus fully satisfied the wrath of God so that all who come to him may enter the presence of the Lord. Jesus makes it so that our failures which continue throughout our lives do not separate us from the love of God. Jesus made it so that, when God sees those who have come to him, God sees the record of Christ’s perfection clothing them in righteousness.

Yes, Levitical sacrifices seem strange in our world today. But if we look closely at them, we can find Jesus. We can find reason for gratitude. WE can find a call to sanctification. We can find life in the grace of the Savior.

From Steven Lawson’s commentary on Psalm 85:

On July 8, 1734, Jonathan Edwards stepped into the pulpit to preach his now famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Edwards had actually preached from the same text several times previously, as recently as one month earlier to his own congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts. But while the guest preacher in Enfield, Connecticut, he preached this sermon yet again; and the people in that New England church were deeply affected. Eleazer Wheelock, one of the leading preachers in the Great Awakening, said the people were “bowed down with an awful conviction of the sin and danger.” One man under deep conviction sprang up and cried, “Mr. Edwards, have mercy!” Others caught hold of the backs of the pews lest they should slip into the pit of hell. Many thought that the day of judgment had suddenly dawned on them. Still others were alarmed that God, while blessing others, should in anger pass them by.

Revival had come to New England, restoring God’s work among his people in colonial America, empowering them to do his will. What is revival? Literally, the word itself means a restoring back to fullness of life that which has become stagnant or dormant. It is a rekindling of spiritual life in individual believers and churches which have fallen into sluggish times. True revival always returns God’s people to a fresh and vivid emphasis on the holiness and righteousness of God, his judgment on sin, true repentance, and the overflowing effect of personal conversions to Christ. This sudden awareness of the overwhelming presence of God is the hallmark of any revival. It is a supernatural work of God in which he visits his people, restoring spiritual life to their hearts, as well as ushering salvation into many souls. Such a revival is always a sovereign work of God, in response to the prayers of his people, and it leaves a lasting mark on his work forever.

…

Historically speaking, revivals have always been marked by the same spiritual characteristics, and it would do believers well to reacquaint themselves with these benchmarks. Whether it be during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah in Old Testament times or the Reformation, Puritan age, and Great Awakening in church history, revivals have always demonstrated the same qualities. They are as follows:

1. A proclamation of Scripture. Any period of revival has always been preceded by a dramatic return to the Word of God. Certainly, this was true in the revival at the Watergate under Ezra and Nehemiah (Neh. 8:8). The centrality of the Scripture in any revival is undisputed. “Preserve my life according to your word” (Ps. 119:37). And this clearly was the dynamic of the early church in Jerusalem which exploded on the scene as “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). The same was true in the days of Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitefield. There was a return to the divine revelation of Scripture being read, studied, taught, and preached.

2. An intercession with God. A genuine spiritual awakening is further marked as a time in which God’s people humble themselves and seek the Lord in unceasing prayer. It is a new season of petitioning God, seeking his face, and asking him to revive his people and restore his work. While all revivals are sent by the sovereign initiative of God, nevertheless, prayer is always the forerunner of his people. It was this way in the early church as they regularly met together to pray (Acts 1:13–14; 2:42; 3:1).

3. A confession of sin. True revival ushers in a deep conviction of personal sin, a confessing of sin, and a turning away from sin. This means that sin made known must go. Iniquities are revealed by the Word, and hearts are broken with deep contrition. Sin is put away. This is precisely what happened in Ezra’s day as the people confessed their sin to God, while openly grieving that they had departed from God’s standard (Neh. 9:1–37). In fact, they put on sackcloth, threw dust on their heads (v. 1), and acknowledged their sin (v. 3), bringing it out into the open before God (v. 37).

4. A devotion to holiness. Old paths of obedience, previously forsaken, are once more pursued. The Word is not only taught and heard anew, but it is also received and kept. Suddenly, there is an overwhelming desire to apply the Scripture to one’s own life, putting it into practice with a new resolve. Revival always brings about this effect. It is a time of renewed commitment to return to the Scripture in order to obey it.

Proverbs 26:4–5

4 Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes.

Reading these two Proverbs back-to-back can feel a little contradictory. Either one, by itself, makes perfect sense. If we answer a fool according to his folly, if we go along with the fool in his ways, we end up acting like a fool. That is not good. But if we refuse to answer a fool, the fool will think he is wise. That is not good either.

In a nutshell, I believe that the writer of Proverbs put these two verses together to let us know that, when dealing with a fool, there is no perfect answer. Fools make civil and productive discussion impossible. At the same time, we sometimes have to get in there and deal with objections fools raise.

What might we need to learn from thinking about these proverbs in the light of the rest of Scripture? You do not have to be nasty to tell the truth. There is no requirement to make fun of people or be intentionally provocative. You can say that someone is in sin, and you can do so with a tone of superiority, arrogance, and disdain. You can also say that somebody is in sin and do so with a tone of sorrow and love and with an offer of hope in Jesus. Don’t be nasty. Do tell the truth.

Christians must remember that one of the fruits of the Spirit is kindness (Gal. 5:22). Thus, we are not to be a people marked by sharpness, anger, and cruelty. Being nasty, getting sinful with the person you are talking with, is answering a fool according to his folly in such a way that you become like him yourself.

But not all of the faith includes being nonconfrontational. Sometimes there is a true wisdom in saying, not out of meanness but out of honesty, that the argument someone is making is foolish. Sometimes we need to look at the ridiculous in the world’s actions, standards, or behavior and speak in such a way as to show it and not let the fool remain wise in his own eyes.

John 9:26-27

26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?”

In John 9, Jesus had healed a blind man. The Pharisees badgered the healed man, because they were trying to find something to hold against Jesus. Eventually, when the healed man realized that the conversation was not going anywhere, he got a little cheeky with the religious leaders. With a bit of sarcasm, he asked them if they were asking so many questions because they wanted to become Jesus’ disciples. I do not think he was sinfully mean here. But the formerly blind man showed the ridiculousness of what was going on.

In the Old Testament, when Elijah openly challenged the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel, the prophet ridiculed the evil prophets. Those prophets had spent the day dancing around, shouting, cutting themselves, and being foolish.

1 Kings 18:26-27

26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”

Elijah mocked the evil practices of the evil prophets. And he was not wrong.

What then? Are we to be polite or mocking? There is a wisdom required here. Examine your own personality and your own purposes. Be an honest person before God, especially about your motivation. Are you someone who is already given to meanness with your words? If so, you probably need to be pulled back and reminded of the kindness of Christ. You probably need to remember that you do not gain anything by scoring points WITH cutting remarks. Are you given to fear, to compromise, to words that barely point out the truth? You may need a little more of Elijah or the formerly blind man in your personality. You should not be afraid to speak the truth, even hard truth, to a lost world. You should not fear to say of evil that it is evil and of folly that it is foolish.

Do not neglect the body of Christ here. The local church should be made up of people who are different than you in temperament. Be honest enough to listen if fellow believers challenge you to be more direct. Take it seriously if fellow believers call on you to show more kindness. And be grateful that God has given us folks in the church who are wired quite differently. Be concerned if nobody in your life is wired differently than you in this area.

Honestly ask the Spirit of God to lead you. Ask God to reveal to you if you, when you want to say something sharp, are feeding your ego. Ask if you are putting yourself forward and finding joy in causing pain. Ask if you are trying to make yourself look big by putting somebody down in a conversation in person or on-line. If so, you are in sin.

But also ask the Spirit of God to help you to see if you are a coward. Ask the Spirit to help you see if you are given to compromise. Ask God to let you know when you need to be bold and call out evil with strong, even sharp words. You do not honor God if you allow people around you to think that they are smart, sophisticated, and beyond the reproof of the Bible.

We need a little of both sides in our lives and in the church. We need kindness and sweetness. We need strength and clarity. The same Jesus who had dinner with tax collectors and sinners called them sinners and told them they needed to repent. The same Jesus who wept over Jerusalem called the Pharisees a brood of vipers, a batch of little snake babies, and asked how in the world they could ever escape hell.

We need the wisdom of God in our speech both inside and outside the church setting to answer and to not answer fools according to their folly.