"Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD."
What does it mean when God says "I am the LORD" and why is it used as a basis of command? The LORD is good, kind, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. (Ex 34:6-7) On this basis God establishes his authority to command. Because of his divine character, we can trust in his judgment. Because of who he is, we can delight in his laws. We know they are for our good because we know who God is by who he has revealed himself as in the person of Jesus Christ (Col 1:15).
And those who obey will live by the commandments. The meaning is twofold: that they will both live in accordance with the Law and that it is obedience to God which brings life. Jesus completely agrees as well. The New Testament does not abolish the Law so that we can pretend it no longer applies. Rather Christ fulfills the Law (Rom 8:3-4) and does away with the curse by becoming a curse for us (Gal 3:13), but we still must obey Christ for the man who obeys will live.
Grace does not do away with the necessity of obedience but rather the curses of disobedience. However, obedience comes only through faith and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit who guides us and reminds us of all that Christ taught. Those who try to obey on their own strength of will are subject to the curses (Gal 3:3-10), but those who are righteous by faith will live. (Rom 1:17)
Showing posts with label Leviticus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leviticus. Show all posts
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Leviticus 20:7-8
“Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy."
The mere fact that there exists a God in heaven necessitates the existence of a holy people, a people called and separated from the world for the Lord's purposes. Israel exists and on a larger scale the Church exists because God exists. The mere fact that the Church is alive today in face of sin and adversity pays tribute to the fact that there is one creator God who makes us, saves us, and sustains us.
He is also the God who sanctifies us, "the Lord who makes us holy" because God alone is holy. God is holy because God is. Holy is his identity so that all might confess, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty". God's holiness is not an incomprehensible abstract quality but rather is bound and made manifest in his relation to Himself as the holy Trinity and to us who are made in his holy image.
And God's holiness opposes those who do not respond appropriately to Him, i.e. bearing the fruit of life through the reflection of that which is Life (God), worshiping in Spirit and in Truth. Anything short of this reflection of God in us is a denial of God's glorious reality and thus a denial of our own humanity. To worship God in obedience is to be fully human. It is to truly live.
The mere fact that there exists a God in heaven necessitates the existence of a holy people, a people called and separated from the world for the Lord's purposes. Israel exists and on a larger scale the Church exists because God exists. The mere fact that the Church is alive today in face of sin and adversity pays tribute to the fact that there is one creator God who makes us, saves us, and sustains us.
He is also the God who sanctifies us, "the Lord who makes us holy" because God alone is holy. God is holy because God is. Holy is his identity so that all might confess, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty". God's holiness is not an incomprehensible abstract quality but rather is bound and made manifest in his relation to Himself as the holy Trinity and to us who are made in his holy image.
And God's holiness opposes those who do not respond appropriately to Him, i.e. bearing the fruit of life through the reflection of that which is Life (God), worshiping in Spirit and in Truth. Anything short of this reflection of God in us is a denial of God's glorious reality and thus a denial of our own humanity. To worship God in obedience is to be fully human. It is to truly live.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Leviticus 22:31-33
"Keep my commandments and follow them. I am the LORD. Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who makes you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD."
Everything hangs on the first 6 words, "Keep my commandments and follow them", a double exhortation of the same thing. The Hebrew language loves repetition for emphasis because the Scripture was meant to be read aloud by teachers and scribes.
For God to be holy, he needs to be recognized as wholly other, that is, something so completely different that it could not have possibly come from the world. God is unlike anything else that has ever existed because he caused all things to exist. This God needs to be seen as radically distinct from every other God to the Israelites as to say there is no comparison.
And it is this holy God who makes us holy through the law and commandment. The law sets us apart from the world. Through obedience we are sanctified and through faith we are justified. Disobedience, behaving just like the nations around us, profanes the Holy Name of God. It tells the world that our God is no different than any other God, that He isn't holy. What use is a God like that? Why not worship idols? But who is like the Lord? There is no one like our Lord, Jesus Christ! Amen!
Everything hangs on the first 6 words, "Keep my commandments and follow them", a double exhortation of the same thing. The Hebrew language loves repetition for emphasis because the Scripture was meant to be read aloud by teachers and scribes.
For God to be holy, he needs to be recognized as wholly other, that is, something so completely different that it could not have possibly come from the world. God is unlike anything else that has ever existed because he caused all things to exist. This God needs to be seen as radically distinct from every other God to the Israelites as to say there is no comparison.
And it is this holy God who makes us holy through the law and commandment. The law sets us apart from the world. Through obedience we are sanctified and through faith we are justified. Disobedience, behaving just like the nations around us, profanes the Holy Name of God. It tells the world that our God is no different than any other God, that He isn't holy. What use is a God like that? Why not worship idols? But who is like the Lord? There is no one like our Lord, Jesus Christ! Amen!
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