LEVITICUS - You Must Be Holy

It had to happen.

Inevitably, one day "Bible Pick ‘Ems" would land me in the middle of Leviticus.

Today is that day.

I wasn’t sure what God was going to teach me in the middle of a seemingly endless list of rules.

But as I read, there it was – the reason for the list.

"The LORD also said to Moses, ‘Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.'" (Leviticus 19:2)

Leviticus is a revelation of God’s character.

God is giving clear instructions on how sinful people can relate to a holy God.

However, Leviticus represents so much more.

It isn’t just a list of things to do to make oneself "good." It isn’t an arbitrary accounting of do’s and don’ts. It isn’t the ranting of a despotic God with a persnickety nature – who sets forth the parameters of human interaction, knowing full-well that His list is impossible.

And yet, I think that IS the "hidden" reason for the laws in Levitcus. The most important part, I would venture to say. The sheer impossibility of keeping them. And the truth of a holy God who knows that fact.

The laws show us the seriousness of sin.

"Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." (Romans 3:19-20)

"God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were." (Romans 5:20)

"In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin." (Romans 7:7)

I got to thinking about this word "holiness" and what it means. The dictionary defines it this way: "Exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness."

Perfect in goodness, righteous.

Holiness is the very definition, the very essence of God. It is His nature. And because of our sinful nature, there is no way we can breach the gap.

Holy cannot mix with unholy.

Trying to grasp this impossibility, I came up with this analogy.

Picture the ocean – the vast, powerful, deeply mysterious ocean. By its very nature, it is water.

I am a human being, and by my very nature, I was made to live on land.

And because of my nature, and because of the nature of the ocean, I am unable to breathe under water. I would die.

The ocean isn’t being unfair or cruel if I died – for the ocean, by its very nature, cannot be anything but itself. So, death is a result of the fundamental difference in our natures. I do not possess within myself the ability to breathe underwater.

God’s nature is holy, and my nature is sinful.

God cannot be anything but Himself. And He is utterly holy. I do not possess within myself the ability to be in His presence. I would die. For my sin completely separates me from His perfect goodness.

The purpose of the law is to demonstrate the standard of perfect holiness that God demands, by His very nature.

It is a "benchmark of behavior" – something to measure ourselves by – a benchmark from which we will always fall short.

Is God being cruel or unfair by setting a standard we have no hope of reaching? NO! I would argue that it is just the opposite. Only a loving God would care enough to show His creatures the IMPOSSIBILITY of reaching Him on their own. He desired to remove all illusions of human goodness – all illusions of a person’s power to save themselves.

It is only in this knowledge, that a human heart can understand its great need for God’s intervention.

And only a loving God would intervene. And that is just what He did – because love is also an undeniable part of His very nature.

So, He sent His Son. Jesus – who, by His very nature, was fully human and fully God.

He made the law obsolete, and He fulfilled it at the same time. He made the law a person. He took on the sin of the world to destroy its power. He overcame the great separation that no man could fix on His own. He bridged the gap between a perfectly holy God and His beloved unholy creatures.

It’s like Jesus made us able to breathe underwater!

When I first opened my Bible for today’s "Bible Pick ‘Ems," I wasn’t sure what God was going to say to me in the middle of Leviticus!

But what He said was this:

"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin…God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus." (Romans 3:23-25, 26)

The law foreshadowed the Lamb – the rules paved the way for the Redeemer.

You know what, I LOVE Leviticus!!

“When in doubt, search God out!”

1 TIMOTHY - Clear Conscience

I remember summers when I was growing up –

Swimming, bodysurfing, reading, playing the radio, and…

…getting a tan!

Yup, not “politically correct” to say that, in these days of SPF 50 and skin cancer scares.

But, it’s true – I was a real “sun worshiper!”

That first day in the sun usually meant a sunburn – ouch! Bring out the Noxema cream or SeaBreeze – the only two things that seemed to take out the sting!

Did that keep me from going out in the sun the next day? NOPE!

And before I knew it, that sunburn didn’t hurt so much. As my skin got tougher, it didn’t notice the effects of the sun. I could sit in the sun for longer and longer periods of time – without the burn. I got USED to it.

Unfortunately, it can be the same way with our conscience.

Today’s “Bible Pick ‘Ems” speaks to this:

“Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.” (1 Timothy 1:19)

I’ve learned this lesson the hard way a few times in my life, I’m sorry to say.

At first, doing something wrong really makes you feel bad. Guilt tears at your heart, and you feel remorse. Like that first day of sunburn. It hurts…

But, if you choose to IGNORE that feeling, (if you go out in the sun again, so to speak) – your conscience begins to harden. Just a little bit. And before you know it, your conscience doesn’t feel the sting of your sin as much. Then it doesn’t feel it at all.

Each time we deliberately ignore our conscience, we are hardening our hearts. Over time, we will lose our capacity to tell right from wrong. We will choose to do the sinful thing intentionally, and we will not feel bad…

But Paul reminds us of a terrible truth – if we do this, we will shipwreck our faith.

Paul knew something about shipwrecks. He experienced them more than once.

When I think of shipwrecks, I think of the Titanic. A huge, beautiful, unsinkable ship. And yet, a glancing blow off an iceberg sank it. Something that seemed small and inconsequential, started an inevitable chain of events that led to disaster.

There are no such things as “small” sins. The “little ones” are the dangerous ones. I am reminded of this phrase from Scripture – “the little foxes that ruin the vineyards.” We must be on guard – we must CLING to our faith like a life preserver – because IT IS a life preserver, in every sense of the word.

How can you keep your conscience clear?

Treasure your faith in Christ more than anything else. Do what is right.

As you walk with God, He will speak to you through your conscience. He will give you His wisdom – He will show you what is right and wrong.

Act on those inner tugs…

Stay out of the "sun" – and remain in the SON!!

"When in doubt, search God out!"