The Jewish Talmud is the record of rabbinic discussions concerning the Law. One of the stated aims of the Talmud was to “build a fence around the Torah.” One Jewish website describes that principle in this way:
For example, the Torah commands us not to work on Shabbat, but a gezeirah commands us not to even handle an implement that you would use to perform prohibited work (such as a pencil, money, a hammer), because someone holding the implement might forget that it was Shabbat and perform prohibited work. (http://www.jewfaq.org/halakhah.htm)
This fence consists of oral and written traditions, not part of the Law itself, but built around the Law. It was because of these traditions that Jesus and the Jewish leaders of his day often found themselves in conflict. Because the Pharisees and Jewish teachers often gave these traditions as much importance as the Law itself. (at least in practice) Jesus refused to follow their traditions, insisting instead on following God’s Law.
We have to be careful about creating a new fence around Scripture, creating traditions that become laws, laws which put us at odds with the teaching of the New Testament. God’s Word needs no fence; the concepts of freedom and grace tear down all manmade safety measures.
Back during our discussion on alcohol, one of our commenters made a comment about “playing it safe.” Basically the idea is, “If drinking is OK, but I don’t drink, I’m still safe. But if I drink and drinking’s not OK, then I’m in trouble.” It’s an old idea, one that I’ll admit to having used in the past when discussing other issues.