According to Luke 6:12-26 [NLTse]
12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and He prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak He called together all of His disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:
14 Simon (whom He named Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot), 16 Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed Him).
PASTOR: As we come to our morning’s reading, keep in mind that the Lord Jesus and His followers have just received word about John the Baptist being killed in prison. The Lord Jesus suspended their public ministry so He and the disciples could have some time alone. But the crowds found out and followed them – 5,000 men, plus women and children, followed them. And the Lord just miraculously fed them all…
ELDER: According to Matthew 14:22-36 [NLTse]
22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that His disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while He sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. Night fell while He was there alone.
24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”
27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” He said. “Take courage. I am here!”
28 Then Peter called to Him, “Lord, if it’s really You, tell me to come to You, walking on the water.”
29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt Me?”
32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped Him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
34 After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 When the people recognized Jesus, the news of His arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed. 36 They begged Him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of His robe, and all who touched Him were healed.
PASTOR: Fifteen years ago I read this passage from this Pulpit. I wasn’t your pastor at that time: I was a seminary student, getting ready to graduate, and seeking to discern God’s calling upon my life. I was here in Milford that day – leading Worship and preaching – as the final part of my interview. When the Service was over, a special Congregational Meeting was going to be held, and you would vote as to whether you believed the Lord wanted me as your pastor or not.
The message I shared that day – the challenge I shared, really – was that I would be your pastor if you would get out of the boat with me so we might walk on the water with Jesus together. I remember saying that if you wanted to stay in the boat then to please find someone else to be your pastor.
As the Lord would have it, that day you voted, “Yes.” Praise the Lord!
You may think that fifteen years is a strange anniversary to hold such significant meaning. But 15 years marks my serving as pastor here longer than any other pastor in this church’s 186-year history. That’s significant to me because I never thought I would stay this long; I had other plans. But the Lord’s ways are not our ways; He leads us to truth we don’t expect to find; and, takes us to places we didn’t expect to go.
Which brings me back to our reading…
Do you know how crazy it is to think that a human being can walk on top of water? I don’t know about you but I can’t even float, I sink like a stone in the water! And we’re talking about climbing over the side to think we might walk on it? No, a person can’t be in their right mind to consider such things…
No, to do such a crazy thing you’d have to be willing to give up mere rationalism; you wouldn’t be able to always trust your senses – what you can see or hear or smell or taste or touch around you; you’d have to live by faith… A person would have be out of their mind. Clearly they’d have to have the mind of Christ…
But let’s just say we did: Get out of our boats and walk with Jesus on top of the lake. What for? Where would we go? What would we do?
Which is another reason this whole idea is so foolish is that, if we did accomplish such a thing we couldn’t do it merely because it would be fun or save us time or to be able to show off to our friends. We’d only get to do it if Jesus called us, “Come!” We wouldn’t get to go where we wanted to go, necessarily. We wouldn’t get to do just what we wanted to do. If we were to get out of this boat we’d have to be willing to give up control – of our lives and ministry here at First Presbyterian Church, of our lives living as part of Christ’s church in the world day by day. We’d have to be willing to let Jesus surprise us – to be willing to see and live the gospel in ways we never had before, and serve in ways and to extents maybe we’d never wanted to or thought we were able to before. It strikes me that to get out of our boats we’d have to even be willing to fail and get soaked in front of our friends and loved ones. We could always trust the Lord to catch us, but we’d have to even be willing to fail…
And yet it strikes me, also, that it would be a lot of fun! Yeah, it would be scary and crazy – but wouldn’t it also be thrilling? What a blast! to carry out such a crazy stunt with the Savior of the world…
Let’s do it.
We’ll have to change some things around here. We’ll have to be willing to let God change us and work with Him to do it! Be willing to take risks we’ve never taken before; make sacrifices we’ve never made before. But let’s not miss out and let others have all the fun!
Let’s never say “we can’t” or “that’s impossible”… If Jesus doesn’t want us to do something, that’s different. But whatever the Lord might call us to, no matter how enormous the task or impossible the odds, if in here in our ministry or out there in our ministry Jesus is calling, let’s go for it together!
And let’s never demand our own way or work just for the goals we have in mind. The Jewish leaders had the Scripture’s memorized and knew what to expect from God’s Messiah, yet they missed Him, and even had Him killed. Let’s expect Jesus to surprise us with what He calls us to, and even be willing to fail, if that’s what risking and stepping out with Him might lead us to.
And let’s never lose the thrill of this life He’s called us to. I know that sometimes walking with Him can seem pretty mundane: Writing checks; keeping Minutes; setting up; cleaning up… But let’s never stop trying to remember, and never stop trying to remind one another, that even in such things we are doing the impossible! And not only the impossible, but doing things that have eternal value to our own souls and the souls of many, many others.
What risks is the Lord calling you out to take? What hang up is the Lord calling you to break? What uncertainty is He calling you to face?
…We can do all things through Christ. He was with Peter. He’s with us… always.
May blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen?
Traditional Worship: [Doxology]
Contemporary Worship: [Closing Worship]
Charge
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise… Then the God of peace will be with you.
First Presbyterian Church of Milford
The Gospel According to Luke 1:1-4 [NLTse]
1 Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.[a] 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.
Leviticus 26:1-13 [NLTse]
1 “Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. I AM the Lord your God. 2 You must keep My Sabbath days of rest and show reverence for My sanctuary. I AM the Lord.
In just a few moments a bunch of our congregation’s teenagers are going to be promising themselves to Jesus Christ. Some of these teens were promised to Christ by their parents when they were baptized while very young. These teens will be “confirming” those baptismal vows now that they have reached the age of responsibility, and be making those promises afresh for themselves. Two of our teens have never been baptized; dedicated to Christ, perhaps, promised in their parents’ hearts, perhaps. They will be baptized here among us this morning.
Both groups of teens will be asked the same questions, making the same promises, the same commitments…
The first question is this: “Who is your lord and savior?” Raised up in a free and democratic society a question asking, “Who is your lord?” is a foreign one. We Americans have been taught that we are our own people, we belong to ourselves, subject to no lord or master or king. And so this very first question gets to the very heart of who we think we are, and who we are choosing to be. It is a question about subjection. To answer this question we must believe that we do not belong to ourselves; that we are not our own; that we do indeed have a lord, a master, a king to whom we owe our loyalty and obedience. Answering that this same one is our savior means we believe we owe this lord and master and king our loyalty and obedience because he has saved us when we could not save ourselves.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 states: “You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.” And Romans 14:7-9 continues the thought: “For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and rose again for this very purpose – to be Lord both of the living and the dead.
When we become Christians, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. Therefore, we no longer own ourselves. Christ’s death freed us from sin but also obligates us to His service. If you live in a building owned by someone else, you try not to violate the building’s rules. Because we belong to God, as our Lord and Savior we commit our lives to fulfill His standards and purposes for our lives.
Who is your lord and savior?
…
Our teens, having committed themselves to Jesus Christ – their Lord and Savior, the second question we’ll be asking is this: “Do you trust Him?”
I think of that as a question of intention: Because each and every one of us has all manner of sad & upsetting and thrilling & joyful experiences happening across our lives. And it can take great faith – great trust – in the midst of these varied situations and happenings to be confident that the Lord God has love for us in them all; that His plan and purpose will be achieved through them all; and that His plan and purpose is to love us, and through these experiences to form us into the likeness of Christ Himself.
2 Timothy 1:9 tells us, “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time – to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.” You and can wholeheartedly follow and obey Him as our Lord and Savior because we trust – through all our troubles and trials, that – His plans and purposes for me are loving and good.
Jesus Christ: Do you trust Him?
…
If we do, the next question we’re asked is: “Do you intend to be His disciple, obey His Word, and show His love?” If the first question was one of subjection and the second a question of intention, this third question is surely one of commitment to transformation. This question assumes that no matter how good or how moral my life, that my Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ – is calling me to change.
“But change to be like what, to be like who? Do I try to act like the pastor, or do I pick out my Sunday School Teacher or one of the Elders to emulate?” Perhaps. But ultimately the One we’re called to be like is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. So by answering this question we are committing ourselves to get to know our Lord and Savior: To read the Bible and get to know about Him; to read the Bible and get to recognize His voice; to talk to Him in prayer and to listen for His response through His Word or through our circumstances or through the words and counsel of others.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 encourages us: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.” So we’ll read the Bible and pray and shape our lives according to what we read and hear…
The last question: “Will you be a faithful member of Christ’s Church, giving of yourself in every way? And will you seek out the fellowship of other Christians wherever you may be?” It’s a question about belonging: We’ve committed that we’re no longer our own and that we now belong to Christ. We believe He has good plans for us, even when bad things happen! And we have committed ourselves to work with Him – as we get to know Him better and better through His Spirit and His Word – to become more like Him, as He’s shown Himself to us in Christ. But not everyone around us is like this. Not many at all have been called out of society to be so focused and committed to Christ.
And so the Lord has established for Himself a community of people made up of those who have been called out and set apart, just like us. This new community is called “The Church”. It has many names. (“First Presbyterian” is just one of the names.) And its made up of folks of every color and every nationality; its people speak every language and live at all ranges of the economic and intellectual spectrums. But it is one body, this Church. It is one community – no matter our variety or differences. United around our one, common faith and trust in our one, common Lord and Savior; all of us committed, together to be His disciples, obey His Word, and show His love…
As Ephesians 2:19-21 states: “So now you are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens long with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself. We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through Him you are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit.”
The Church is our new family; we’re a part of a new community, the household of God, the Body of Christ.
Leviticus 17:1-16 [NLTse]
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 2“Give the following instructions to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel. This is what the Lord has commanded.
3“If any native Israelite sacrifices a bulla or a lamb or a goat anywhere inside or outside the camp 4instead of bringing it to the entrance of the Tabernacleb to present it as an offering to the Lord, that person will be as guilty as a murderer.c Such a person has shed blood and will be cut off from the community. 5The purpose of this rule is to stop the Israelites from sacrificing animals in the open fields. It will ensure that they bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, so he can present them to the Lord as peace offerings. 6Then the priest will be able to splatter the blood against the Lord’s altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and he will burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 7The people must no longer be unfaithful to the Lord by offering sacrifices to the goat idols.d This is a permanent law for them, to be observed from generation to generation.
8“Give them this command as well. If any native Israelite or foreigner living among you offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 9but does not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to offer it to the Lord, that person will be cut off from the community.
10“And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you eats or drinks blood in any form, I will turn against that person and cut him off from the community of your people, 11for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord.e It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible. 12That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood—neither you nor the foreigners living among you.’
13“And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you goes hunting and kills an animal or bird that is approved for eating, he must drain its blood and cover it with earth. 14The life of every creature is in its blood. That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood, for the life of any creature is in its blood.’ So whoever consumes blood will be cut off from the community.
15“And if any native-born Israelites or foreigners eat the meat of an animal that died naturally or was torn up by wild animals, they must wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water. They will remain ceremonially unclean until evening, but then they will be clean. 16But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be punished for their sin.”
Footnotes:
a 17:3 Or cow.
b 17:4a Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 17:5, 6, 9.
c 17:4b Hebrew will be guilty of blood.
d 17:7 Or goat demons.
e 17:11 Or to make atonement for you.
Oftentimes non-Christians try to label God as being controlling, wanting us to do what He wants the way He wants it done, as though for no reason. As a pastor I get an earful of these accusations, and especially in situations having to do with our reading this morning. In these opening verses the Lord tells us He wants His people to come to His place of worship to offer our sacrifices. As New Covenant people, the New Testament speaks of “sacrifices of praise” and the “collection of offerings” and “surrendering our will” and Christians have often come to associate these things with our Sunday Worship Services.
But folks around our community regularly call me asking to have their newborn baptized or if I would conduct their weddings. As a part of that conversation I always ask them where they go to church. And most often they tell me: “You don’t have to go to church to worship God.” (To which I always respond, “Of course you don’t.”) And then they will often chime in with some litany about how the woods are their Sanctuary and that they worship when they go hunting, or that God seems so close to them when they are working in their garden, or something like that. And yet the Lord makes clear to us directly or indirectly across the pages of Scripture that He wants us to be together with other believers and come to His place.
Why do you think that’s important to Him?
Before I became a Christian I used to read about things God wanted from us or demanded from us in the Bible and I would ask, “What does He want that for?” accusing Him of demanding too much or being unfair. I’ve changed since putting my trust in Christ. Instead of accusing God, I’ve begun trying to believe His Word, and trying to understand – if I can – what benefits, what light, what life might result from His various commands. Most of the time much becomes clear that way, and I get more and more encouraged what a loving and perfect Father we have. But even when I can’t comprehend, still I try to trust and obey Him anyway…
So when I read this passage, I asked, “What problems might arise if sacrifices were offered in an uncontrolled context? How would limiting sacrifices to the Tabernacle reduce these problems?” And I tried to think of the good things God might have for us in keeping such commands, and the blessings He might want to bestow.
First, I got thinking about unity, being the “Body of Christ.” How can we be a part of each other if we don’t spend time together to get to know each other: each other’s strengths and weaknesses; each other’s needs; personality quirks; so that we might have the opportunities to forgive one another and support one another or to let others forgive us and support us..?
I got thinking about unity in teaching: Even here in Milford the different teachings of different pastors and leaders create a sense of disunity between us and those who are a part of Long Meadow Chapel (for instance) or Milford Bible, and other congregations to the point that we don’t tend to look at ourselves or think of ourselves as one church but as several churches.
Of course, the Lord Jesus says that wherever two or three are gathered in His name that He is present. So merely to be confident of His presence and hearing our prayers we need to be with other Christians and not off by ourselves…
You might ask, “What about when there are corrupt leaders?” Well, the opening chapters of 1 Samuel tells us of two corrupt priests named Hophni and Phinehas. The Law stated that from every sacrifice that was brought to and offered at the Tabernacle the priest was allotted a certain portion. But we read in 1 Samuel that Hophni and Phinehas would take extra portions of the sacrifices they offered, by force if necessary! And that they would use their authority and influence to take advantage of the young women who helped with all the work and chores around the Tabernacle. (We haven’t been reading our Bibles very well if we think the abuses of power by priests and pastors is a modern occurrence.)
“What do we do about the reality of corrupt leaders?” Well, we don’t give up on cars because we had one that broke down once. You do what’s necessary to get them fixed! And if you’ve tried and tried but it seems like you’ve just gotten a lemon, you sell it, trade it in, (abandoning it in the middle of the highway is not recommended) and get a new one! And we should do the same with Christ’s church: We should hold people accountable to the Word of God and seek for repentance and biblical change (our own repentance and biblical change first, and then that of others); and if we face refusal or hardness of hearts then we go and find a more faithful body. But don’t stop being a part of Christ’s church!
“For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, Who is over all and in all and living through all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)
So as Hebrews writes: “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the Day of His return is drawing near.” (10:25)
… [Go stand behind the Lord’s Table.]
I’d like to address one more thing in closing. Our reading from Leviticus speaks about the offense of eating blood. Now eating blood was a common practice in pagan worship rituals. It was often done in hopes of gaining the characteristics of the slain animal: You’d sacrifice a bull and drink its blood in the hopes of gaining strength; you’d sacrifice a gazelle and drink its blood in the hopes of gaining speed; you’d sacrifice a lion and drink its blood in the hopes of gaining ferocity or to incite fear in your enemies. By drinking the beast’s blood you sought to gain its life – today we’d call it its life-force, maybe.
This restriction against blood was one of the most dearly held tenets of Judaism, alongside circumcision and keeping the Sabbath. Even today kosher practices go to great lengths to draw the blood out of meat before it is cooked or eaten. And in the Book of Acts in the letter sent by the Jerusalem Council out to the growing number of Gentile churches, only four areas of the Jewish Law were required to be a part of the Gentile-Christians’ forgiven lifestyle: 1) Not eating any food that had been sacrificed to demons; 2) not eating the meat of animals that had been strangled; 3) no sexual immorality; and, 4) no eating blood!
In the light of the importance of this command, imagine the horror when first century Jews heard the Lord Jesus say, “Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.” And the Lord went on, “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father Who sent Me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on Me will live because of Me”. Imagine the shock, the revulsion and disgust! And the Gospel of John tells us that many of Jesus’ disciples “turned away and deserted Him” at that time. (6:66)
Next Sunday we’ll be celebrating the Lord’s Supper – eating the Lord Jesus’ flesh and drinking the Lord Jesus’ blood – as a part of our one, blended Worship Service at 10:30am. But my brothers and sisters in Christ, we were not made to have the characteristics of beasts! We are not animals. We are not evolved apes or monkeys or lesser creatures! We have been created in the image of almighty God. We were made to have His characteristics in us. He wants us to have His life! Let’s prepare ourselves this-coming week to take into ourselves the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, and to gain all His benefits.
Traditional Worship: […]
Contemporary Worship: […]
Leviticus 16:1-10 [NLTse]
1The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, who died after they entered the Lord’s presence and burned the wrong kind of fire before Him. 2The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I Myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover. Read more…
Our first Gospel lesson today comes from the Book of John, Chapter 3, beginning in the 1st verse:
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
You know, every once in a while I like to live a little dangerously. Pastor Ben sent me an email earlier this month that said that he and Amy were going to be away on this Sunday. Since I was scheduled to be the assisting Elder for the services anyway, he asked if I would like to do the whole thing and preach as well. I replied back, “Sure, glad to.” Now that’s not the dangerous part. I mean, I’ve been up here before. No, it was when I started thinking about sermon topics. I thought, “I know, I can ask the confirmands what they would like me to preach about.” You see, Julia, Doug, and I teach this year’s confirmation class of young teens…”they can pick my sermon topic!” I don’t think I had enough coffee that morning. So last Sunday they were asked…and here is the topic they picked.: (slide) “How to Identify Farm Tractors by the Sound They Make.” Really. Tractors. I know people claim to pick out motorcycles by their distinctive sounds…but tractors?
Well, I’m never one to shy away from a challenge, so…(play sound clip)…(shouting over the noise) this is the sound of a Fendt Vario 930 TMS, a legendary ground breaker that first premiered in 1995. Listen to her go!…And this baby is an MB Trac 1800 Intercooler, built by Mercedes-Benz between the years 1973 and 1991. At its time its design and concept was revolutionary…(stop sound).
Actually, they were only kidding with the question about tractors and so was I. What they really wanted me to preach about was the Trinity…Father, Son, Holy Ghost…What’s that all about anyway? Terrific question. You see, Trinity Sunday comes just eight weeks after Easter, which this year puts it on June 19, 2011. So it is very timely that they ask about the concept of the Trinity. To tell the truth, they usually ask great questions when they aren’t being silly. We have a real smart bunch joining the church this year.
You know, asking questions and talking about the answers is a good way to learn so why don’t we use that format to learn about the Trinity. It will be our own game of 20 questions. First up, what is the definition of trinity? Sounds like we can resolve this with a simple trip to the dictionary. That will answer all our questions quickly. (cross to get dictionary) It’s going to be a short sermon…I hope the coffee is ready downstairs. (Hold up big book) Actually, this is just my prop dictionary. I really just looked it up on line. It said, “trinity (noun)…a group of three.” Well that’s a big help. Oh, wait, with a capital T there is a different definition…”Also called Holy Trinity, Blessed Trinity (Christian theology) the union of three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in one Godhead.”
Actually, there are a lot of “three’s” found in the Bible and everywhere else. God’s attributes are three: omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. There are three great divisions completing time–past, present, and future. Thought, word, and deed, complete the sum of human capability.
Three times is the blessing given in Numbers 6:23, 24:–“The LORD bless thee and keep thee; The LORD make His face shine upon thee; and be gracious unto thee; The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace”The first occurrence of the number is in Genesis 1:13. “The third day” was the day on which the earth was caused to rise up out of the water, symbolical of that resurrection life which we have in Christ, and in which alone we can worship, or serve, or do any “good works.” Hence three is a number of RESURRECTION, for it was on the third day that Jesus rose again from the dead. I guess it’s like they said on “Schoolhouse Rock,” three is a magic number. But I digress…
So wait a minute, is God our Father, God? Yes. Is Jesus, the Son God? Yes. Is the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost or whatever you want to call it, God? Yes. So just how many gods do we worship here anyway? One. Hmm. Better keep the coffee warm downstairs. It’s really very simple. The Holy Blessed Trinity is one and the same God in three Divine Persons.
Let me try and explain it to you this way. I’m going to use an analogy, a comparison, because that can make the concept easier to understand. Just remember that no analogy is perfect. You see this prop dictionary I am holding? You would say that it is about 11 inches high. You would say it is about 9 inches wide. You would say that it is about 3 and a half inches deep. But I am only holding one book. And that book is 11 inches high and 9 inches wide and 3 and a half inches deep. And God is the Father and God is the Son and God is the Holy Spirit. Sometimes people use the water illustration to make this same point, but it still fails to adequately describe the Trinity. Liquid, vapor, and ice are forms of water. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not forms of God, each of them is God. So, while these illustrations may give us a picture of the Trinity, the picture is not entirely accurate. An infinite God cannot be fully described by a finite illustration.
We worship one God. Here is what it says in Deuteronomy 6: 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
So how do we get three Persons out of that and each Person is Divine, no less? Although the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are distinct Persons, they are not distinct in nature. The nature or essence of the Father is entirely the nature of the Son; and the nature of the Father and the Son is entirely the nature of the Holy Ghost. They are equal to one another because they are all God. And one did not come before another. Look what it says in the beginning of John: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Maybe we are getting hung up by the word “Persons.” Look at the choir or the praise team, each of them is a person and each is separate and distinct from one another and each has a separate soul. That is how our logical brains tend to work. But that is not how these divine Persons work. Remember, one nature, one essence? However, in order that we may better know the three divine Persons, certain perfections and works are attributed to each Person; for example, omnipotence and the works of omnipotence, such as creation, to the Father; wisdom and the works of wisdom, such as enlightenment, to the Son, love and the works of love, such as sanctification, to the Holy Ghost.
Can we completely understand how this all works? No. But it is true and we believe it nonetheless. Do I completely understand how my car works or how my computer runs? No. But I use them every day. And that’s okay. I believe in the Trinity because I have God’s word for it. God’s Word gives us a clear concept of the Trinity, the Godhead, a concept woven throughout the pages of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
Listen to what Jesus had to say about the Holy Spirit in John 14: 25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
That sounds much more like a Person than a personality of God. You might say that I have several personalities, or facets when you meet me in different settings or doing different things. For example, last night I was a theater tech when I was running lights at the Milford Theater for their tribute to the singer Ruth Etting, America’s Sweatheart of Song. This afternoon, I will be a computer geek, as I turn Friday night’s jazz concert at the school into a DVD and CD. And early tomorrow morning, I will be driving down to Fort Washington, PA to help make the world safe for pharmaceutical quality. But you still only see me any time you look.
Not so with God…just look at what it says in Matthew 3: 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” There you have all three divne Persons in action at the same time, not just three divine Personalities. Have you ever seen the old Peter Sellers’ film, “The Mouse that Roared,” where the late Mr. Sellers played most of the major characters? This is not like that. You can’t use trick photography to explain this…this is not an illusion.
So far I have asked and answered about 7 of my 20 questions. I don’t think I am going to need all 20 to explain the Trinity to you…you are a very bright group. I see where the confirmands get it from. But I do sense a few more questions lurking about. Actually, I cribbed these next questions off the internet, since I thought they sounded so much like questions anyone would have.
Question: If Jesus was God, why would he kneel down and pray to himself “to remove this cup” (his impending death) from himself in the garden after the Last Supper, when the apostles all fell asleep? Why did he not grant himself his own wish? Why did he say to some other person, “…but let it not be my will, God, let it be yours.”? Who was he talking to? Why was he talking to that person? What did that other person have to do with Jesus/God taking his own life (if, he actually did take his own life?) In this scripture I truly sense that it was very, very painful and heartbreaking for Jesus to sacrifice his life, and that if it were entirely up to him, he might re-structure things. But I’m convinced that it was not entirely up to him – there was an entirely different person involved that Jesus was trying to please, trying to impress. I believe that other person was Jesus’ Father, God, who Jesus was praying to.
Answer: We have talked about various concepts about the Trinity already. With regard to Jesus, the Bible tells us he had both a divine and a human nature while he was here on earth. Consider some attributes of God that Jesus displayed in Scripture:
He was fully God, as described in Colossians 2: 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.
Only God knows the inner thoughts of man, yet Jesus saw evil in the hearts of the Jewish scribes, as decribed in Matthew 9: 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?
Only God knows the future, yet Jesus knew in advance those who would reject him and those who would follow him .
Jesus knows all things from John 16: 29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
Jesus also knew other things that only God could know. He knew where the fish were in the water; he knew which fish contained the coin; he knew Lazarus had died.
On the other hand, Jesus also displayed some very human traits: Jesus was hungry at times. He wept at times. He felt “overwhelmed with sorrow” when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. Hebrews 4:15 says he was “tempted in every way, just as we are.”
So, when Jesus knelt down to ask the Father “to remove this cup,” he was speaking from his human nature. He was obviously going through a very difficult time, to the point of even sweating blood. Not only was Jesus about to lay down his life, but the One who had existed in perfect, holy unity with his Father before coming to the earth was now about to take upon himself the sins of the world He had been chosen before the creation of the world to be the sacrificial Lamb and only he could atone for the sins of all mankind. Yes, Jesus was definitely obeying the Father, but he was committed to following through because of his great love for you and for me…it was the very reason he came to earth. He came to seek and to save that which was lost.
Question: If Jesus/God died for my sins, who resurrected him? If he resurrected himself, did he truly “die” for my sins? When he said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”, who was Jesus/God talking to? If Jesus/God knew he had the ability to resurrect himself, what was sacrificed? What atonement was made for sin?
Answer: In other words, if Jesus is God, how could Jesus have been raised from the dead if God had been crucified? As mentioned in the previous answer, the teaching of the Trinity does not contradict the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead. The Father and the Holy Spirit were still in heaven while Jesus was on the earth. Though one person of the Godhead had been crucified, the other two persons (the Father and the Holy Spirit) were still overseeing the universe.
So hopefully you now have some understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity. So what is there to be confused about? I think part of the confusion, especially for younger people, is that a lot of…stuff…I think that is a polite way to put it, is thrown up on the Internet in various forms and from various sources of very varied reliability. Just remember, the internet will sit still for anything you want post on it. Not that you need to be high tech to have controversy. The reason that there was so much thought about the Trinity is that the very early church started having problems about some of the things that were being taught. This also happens today with some groups. Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Unitarians for example, all do not believe in the Trinity. One of the main points they bring up is that the word “trinity” does not appear in the Bible, which is true. For that matter, the word “Bible” doesn’t appear in the Bible either (except on the cover and title page), but that term is pretty commonly used as well.
It can be rather difficult to find a source on the history of this doctrine on the internet that doesn’t present a very strong point of view. One site that manages in this case though is called ReligionFacts.com. I’m going to quote a little history from them now.
“The doctrine of the Trinity took centuries to develop, but the roots of the doctrine can be seen from the first century.
The word “Trinity” is not found in the New Testament, nor is the doctrine explicitly taught there. However, foundations of the concept of the Trinity can be seen in the New Testament, especially in the Gospel of John, one of the latest and most theologically developed of the New Testament books.
Hints of Trinitarian beliefs can also be seen in the teachings of extra-biblical writers as early as the end of the first century. However, the clearest early expression of the concept came with Tertullian, a Latin theologian who wrote in the early third century. Tertullian coined the words “Trinity” and “person” and explained that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were “one in essence – not one in Person.”
About a century later, in 325, the Council of Nicea set out to officially define the relationship of the Son to the Father, in response to the controversial teachings of Arius. Led by bishop Athanasius, the council established the doctrine of the Trinity as orthodoxy and condemned Arius’ teaching that Christ was the first creation of God. The creed adopted by the council described Christ as “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.”
Nicea did not end the controversy, however. Debate over how the creed (especially the phrase “one substance”) ought to be interpreted continued to rage for decades. One group advocated the doctrine that Christ was a “similar substance” as the Father. But for the most part, the issue of the Trinity was settled at Nicea and, by the fifth century, never again became a focus of serious controversy.”
The website goes on to say, “There are many differences in doctrine between various mainstream Christian denominations, but the doctrine of the Trinity is not one of them.
The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life.
— Roman Catholicism
The fundamental truth of the Orthodox Church is the faith revealed in the True God: the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. — Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
We teach that the one true God. is the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, three distinct persons, but of one and the same divine essence, equal in power, equal in eternity, equal in majesty, because each person possesses the one divine essence .— Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod)
We trust in the one triune God. — Presbyterian Church (USA)
The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. — Southern Baptist Convention
There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. — United Methodist Church”
Looks like we have a lot of company when it comes to the Trinity. And it’s quite a topic to talk about on a sunny/cloudy/rainy Sunday morning. Maybe we were better off with our original topic – “How to Identify A Tractor By the Sound It Makes.” Only instead of tractors, maybe we had just better listen to nature, as God’s majesty shines through His Creation, listen to the words of Jesus, as they are read from the pulpit, or listen to the Holy Spirit, as the still small voice in our hearts.
Or we could just listen to Hymn No. 262 in the Hymnal: (slide)
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Leviticus 13:1-17 [NLTse]
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “If anyone has a swelling or a rash or discolored skin that might develop into a serious skin disease, that person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons. 3 The priest will examine the affected area of the skin. If the hair in the affected area has turned white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, it is a serious skin disease, and the priest who examines it must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean.
4 “But if the affected area of the skin is only a white discoloration and does not appear to be more than skin-deep, and if the hair on the spot has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the person for seven days. 5 On the seventh day the priest will make another examination. If he finds the affected area has not changed and the problem has not spread on the skin, the priest will quarantine the person for seven more days. 6 On the seventh day the priest will make another examination. If he finds the affected area has faded and has not spread, the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. It was only a rash. The person’s clothing must be washed, and the person will be ceremonially clean. 7 But if the rash continues to spread after the person has been examined by the priest and has been pronounced clean, the infected person must return to be examined again. 8 If the priest finds that the rash has spread, he must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, for it is indeed a skin disease.
9 “Anyone who develops a serious skin disease must go to the priest for an examination. 10 If the priest finds a white swelling on the skin, and some hair on the spot has turned white, and there is an open sore in the affected area, 11 it is a chronic skin disease, and the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. In such cases the person need not be quarantined, for it is obvious that the skin is defiled by the disease.
12 “Now suppose the disease has spread all over the person’s skin, covering the body from head to foot. 13 When the priest examines the infected person and finds that the disease covers the entire body, he will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. Since the skin has turned completely white, the person is clean. 14 But if any open sores appear, the infected person will be pronounced ceremonially unclean. 15 The priest must make this pronouncement as soon as he sees an open sore, since open sores indicate the presence of a skin disease. 16 However, if the open sores heal and turn white like the rest of the skin, the person must return to the priest 17 for another examination. If the affected areas have indeed turned white, the priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean by declaring, ‘You are clean!’”
Kyra and Karly have just beaten me in Wii baseball. Different kids are putting on skits as the rest of us watch and laugh. All the other Youth Leaders are asleep. It’s 4:22 Saturday morning during the Youth Group Lock-In and I’m writing my sermon…
[Acting this out. Cover my mouth and cry out] “Unclean! Unclean!” [Get one arm out of my jacket, letting it hang askew] “Unclean! Unclean!” [Begin walking down the Chancel steps, but then speaking to those sitting in the first rows] “Stay back! See, I am unclean! Stay back!”
Can you imagine? I don’t think any of us can imagine what it would be like to be permanently unclean in Israelite society. That’s an awkward way of saying that, of course, because if you were unclean in Israelite society you weren’t part of Israelite society! Leper colonies were established in ancient Israel because those who’d been declared unclean because of a chronic skin disease were not allowed to live within the towns and cities of Israel and Judah in Old Testament times, nor within the towns and cities of Judea and The Galilee in New Testament times. Lepers (the skin diseases included more than just leprosy – what is called “Hansen’s Disease” today – but they have come to be lumped together under the umbrella-term “leprosy”) lepers lived in isolation, separated from those not so afflicted. It didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, married or single, had a family or not: If you were declared to have a chronic skin disease, you were cut off from your money, your spouse, your children (or parents) and moved out of town to join the leper camp.
“Unclean! Unclean!” You always had to wear torn clothing. It’s not that lepers became poor and so could only afford ratty clothing. No, lepers had to wear torn clothing so it would be clear to any and all who saw them even from a distance that they were unclean. If you were a leper and you were out in the countryside (because it was forbidden for you to enter the towns or cities) if you were out in the countryside and came across another traveler, you had to announce yourself, “Unclean! Unclean!” covering your mouth even as you cried out.
The only other people you touched were other lepers. The only other people who touched you were other lepers. I can’t imagine, I don’t think any of us can imagine, what it would be like to be so isolated, so alone, and with no hope of being a part of your family, your marriage, your business and lands, your old life again…
And that’s what the Lord Jesus has saved us from.
There are some 613 different laws recorded across the pages of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And almost half of them here in Leviticus. Laws that if kept declared a person “righteous”, and if not kept that declared a person “a sinner”! Laws that if kept declared a person “clean” and free to participate in society and to draw near to the Lord in His Temple, and if not kept that declared a person “unclean” and cut-off from society and cut-off from the Lord and His holy presence in His holy Temple.
The Law could tell you you were righteous and clean, or the Law could tell you you were a sinner and unclean. But that’s all the Law could do, that’s all the Law could ever do. And then the Lord Jesus came, and He forgave sinners their sin, and He made lepers clean, restoring them to their husbands and wives and parents and children and friends and position and community… and to God.
And the truth is that ultimately we were all lepers, cut-off from each other, cut off from God, until the Lord Jesus came and saved us. Everyone is a leper – everyone who’s not in Christ. Everyone is separated from those around them, and spouses and family members and co-workers… and God. Some people are aware of their isolation. Others don’t seem to care but have turned their circumstances into ways to live off of others or shirk responsibilities. But everyone is cut-off without Jesus’ touch, without Jesus’ words of forgiveness, without Jesus’ cleansing, and making us whole.
The Good News According to Mark tells us:
40 “A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. ‘If you are willing, You can heal me and make me clean,’ he said.
41 “Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ He said. ‘Be healed!’ 42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. 43 Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: 44 ‘Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.’”
When was the last time you came and knelt in front of Jesus begging to be healed and cleansed? The Lord Jesus has authority, compassion, and the will to heal you and make you clean…
Leviticus 11:29-45 [NLTse]
29 “Of the small animals that scurry along the ground, these are unclean for you: The mole rat, the rat, large lizards of all kinds, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31 All these small animals are unclean for you. If any of you touch the dead body of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. 32 If such an animal dies and falls on something, that object will be unclean. This is true whether the object is made of wood, cloth, leather, or burlap. Whatever its use, you must dip it in water, and it will remain defiled until evening. After that, it will be ceremonially clean and may be used again.
33 “If such an animal falls into a clay pot, everything in the pot will be defiled, and the pot must be smashed. 34 If the water from such a container spills on any food, the food will be defiled. And any beverage in such a container will be defiled. 35 Any object on which the carcass of such an animal falls will be defiled. If it is an oven or hearth, it must be destroyed, for it is defiled, and you must treat it accordingly.
36 “However, if the carcass of such an animal falls into a spring or a cistern, the water will still be clean. But anyone who touches the carcass will be defiled. 37 If the carcass falls on seed grain to be planted in the field, the seed will still be considered clean. 38 But if the seed is wet when the carcass falls on it, the seed will be defiled.
39 “If an animal you are permitted to eat dies and you touch its carcass, you will be defiled until evening. 40 If you eat any of its meat or carry away its carcass, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening.
41 “All small animals that scurry along the ground are detestable, and you must never eat them. 42 This includes all animals that slither along on their bellies, as well as those with four legs and those with many feet. All such animals that scurry along the ground are detestable, and you must never eat them. 43 Do not defile yourselves by touching them. You must not make yourselves ceremonially unclean because of them. 44 For I AM the Lord your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I AM holy. So do not defile yourselves with any of these small animals that scurry along the ground. 45 For I, the Lord, AM the One Who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I AM holy.
Of the 613 Rabbinical Laws, 247 – only a little less than half – come from the Book of Leviticus.
The Lord God – our Father – is a holy God. And He clearly sets out to Moses the holy way He desires sacrifice be offered to Him. We learn the righteous procedures for making a Burnt Offering, and the righteous procedures for making a Grain Offering. We read of the righteous way to make a Peace Offering and a Sin Offering and a Guilt Offering. We learn what sins required a Sin Offering and what sins required a Guilt Offering.
As a part of ordering His people and structuring His holy society, the Lord gave directions for the Ordination Service to ordain Aaron and his descendants into the Office of the Priesthood, and Aaron and his heir into the Office of the High Priesthood, and what offerings need to be made, and how to wash, and what to wear.
Even after they have been ordained, Leviticus describes how those who are priests are to conduct themselves daily, and goes on to dictate which animals the Israelites can eat and which they cannot, that childbirth makes a woman “unclean” before God and how she can be “purified” and restored to active life in the holy community, and on and on and on… All of these rules and regulations summed up in the words of the Lord that end our morning’s reading today: God saying, “You must be holy because I AM holy!”
I’ve had lots of conversations over the years with various folks asking whether or not I thought God truly cared about such details as we read throughout the pages of Leviticus. And the answer seems simple enough: Of course, or we wouldn’t have these particulars recorded for us in His Word! But there’s more to these details and directions and dictates than just a memorial to how the Lord wanted the Hebrews of old to live in fellowship with Him. There’s wealth here for us today, riches for comprehending His calling to us – to those of us who love Him as His bride, who’ve been adopted to be His sons.
For 430 years Israel had lived in Egypt in the midst of Egypt’s pantheon of gods and within a society based upon Egypt’s varied beliefs and practices of worship. 430 years – that longer than the United States has even existed as a nation! It was all the Israelites had ever known, and reading carefully we can see that many of the Israelites had come to adopt the faith and ways of their Egyptian slave drivers. But the Lord didn’t want His people to worship Him as the Egyptians worshiped their gods. So Moses recorded how the Lord God did want to be worshiped, because it was very different.
The word holy translates the Hebrew word, qodesh. Qodesh communicates the idea of apartness, holiness, sacredness, hallowed, holy; distinct from the common or profane; totally good and entirely without evil. The LORD reveals Himself to be holy, set apart, distinct from the other gods that were (and are) worshiped; totally good and entirely without evil. And He calls human beings – those who will trust Him and follow Him – to a holiness resembling His Own.
What this means is, that when I – a Christian – speed while driving my car along the highway or through town that I am staining God’s holiness, because the Lord calls us to obey the laws of the land, and since the typical citizen does not obey the laws of the land we are ruining an opportunity to show forth God’s holiness in us. When I tell someone I’m going to do something and I don’t do it I am staining the holiness of God, because the Lord calls us to do what we say we’re going to do – to keep our word even if it hurts us to do so! And because the typical person does not keep their word we are ruining an opportunity to demonstrate the Father’s holiness, separateness, qodesh in us. When I use bad language, or even when I just grumble and complain all the time, I’m staining the Lord God’s holiness because so many people cuss and because everyone seems to be so ready to tell you their sad story or what a tough day and life they’ve had! So by keeping our language gentle and acceptable to all, we are showing ourselves – and our God – to be holy. By setting our minds on the good in the world, God’s grace to the world, the mercy He’s shown the world, all that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy around us, being people who bless others and encourage others and spread the hope we have in Christ we do what nobody else in the world is doing: While everyone else is complaining, we are showing others the holiness – the apartness and distinctness, the qodesh of Christ…
I know that Christians getting caught in scandals make headlines and tarnish the holiness of God. But so much more often than the big offenses, aren’t the little things I’ve been talking about, aren’t these the reasons people call Christians “hypocrites”? When Christians talk badly about each other, when Christians lie or cheat, when Christians are bitter or unforgiving, when Christians are tight-fisted or rude, aren’t these more commonly the reasons unbelievers think badly about Christ’s church because even they know it’s not the way God’s calling us to be.
The Bible’s filled with dos and don’ts. But since we’re not saved by doing or not doing these lists our Savior wants us to do or doesn’t want us to do must be there for some other reason. They’re there to teach us how to live and how to love God’s way. And when we live and love His way we’ll show ourselves and our God to be holy. We won’t have to work at it, we won’t be able to help it: God’s ways are different, peculiar, distinct. And when we live and love that way we’ll stand out, others will see we’re different, apart from the crowd, qodesh. It won’t be because we’re trying to draw attention to ourselves, it will be because not many people show mercy, give of themselves sacrificially, and seek to be servant-hearted the ways our qodesh Lord call us to be.
There’s a woman in our congregation who’s friends wonder how she can trust God when so many bad things seem to be going on in the world. And yet all she sees are examples of God’s protection and provision and grace when she looks at the same dire situations…
A young couple in our church is hoping to downsize their possessions to have more resources to help the poor, share about Jesus, and be ready to go where God tells them and their young family to go…
Giving up TV and Facebook and gaming and entertainment time to commit to our spouse or children or serving neighbors or sharing Christ…
A young man among us forgives his offender privately, but his act is made public and the Lord God gets public glory! …
A younger man in our church has friends at school who wonder why doesn’t swear like everyone else, and why he doesn’t want to fool around with as-many-of-the-girls-as-he-can, like the other guys do…
…
That’s what it means to be holy. So many are concerned with what other people think. Are we hoping they’ll think we are holy?
Our Beloved calls us to be holy. So, read the Word; trust the Word; and, live the Word. Be holy.