You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:26, and 1 Peter 1:16
This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - starting chapter seventeen - Holiness and Love - covering Leviticus 19-20, looking specifically at the first theme for the chapter - An Exhortation from God. In the introduction to the chapter, the commentary briefly examines how we as humans can easily move from peace with God in one moment to sin (of course of many flavors). The commentary then states how Leviticus 19 is often regarded "as the thematic center of the book[,]" and how "the largest themes of Leviticus are the holiness of God and the holiness of God's people; those are the themes for Leviticus 19-20. For today - An Exhortation from God - focuses on v19:2, "[y]ou shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy" and how these words also appear in the Old Testament in Leviticus 11:44-45 and 20:26, and in the New Testament in 1 Peter 1:16. Believers should know that we exist to glorify God; therefore, we can better understand the importance of being holy as God seeks for us to represent Him to the world. The commentary describes God's holiness as "He is different, other than, and He is unique in that He is perfectly righteous....Holiness is an intrinsic attribute of God's nature, and God expresses His holiness through what He does." The question of course believers are left with is: what does holiness mean? The commentary indicates it will address this in the next sub-heading, which I will tackle tomorrow.
Comment and discuss this post here.
My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and You are holy, righteous, and perfect in all that You are and all that You do. You have blessed me in so many ways I cannot simply describe all these ways. I am not deserving of how You bless me. My sin of harshness and anger towards others continues, as do other sins such as worry. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
