Always Reforming

I'll be presenting this lesson tomorrow morning at Church.  We'll be reading the first 18 verses of Leviticus 13.  I would suggest you do that, but I know, since you're reading blogs, that you probably won't.  Mark 1:40-45: And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.     Though this is ceremonial law, and therefore ...

"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."  After a little study I realized that I missed an aspect of what this verse was saying.  In the ESV it reads, " The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."  The subtle choice of the word "charge" instead of "commandment" totally changes the meaning of the verse.  I searched versions to see which word seemed to be closer to the truth, and the majority of the versions, including very literal translations, render it "commandment".  The ESV translates it as if Paul is speaking of the charge that he is giving Timothy, or perhaps, the charge that they were given by God.  However, both Matthew Henry and John Calvin take it to mean the law of God.  Read in the context of the passage, this makes much sense.  Verse 7 says that some want to be teachers of the law but are ig...