Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

Leviticus 10

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Leviticus 10:1-2 

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing with chapter ten - Our Response to God's Holiness - covering Leviticus 10:1-20, looking specifically at the theme - God's People Acknowledge God as Judge.  Here, the commentary focuses on God's judgement of sin - a topic not often discussed in church and certainly discussed less so in our larger culture here in the U.S. (or even tolerated). In v10:2 Nadab and Abihu were swiftly and harshly judged by God for their "unauthorized fire." We are urged to the the larger context in Leviticus 10 where it describes the Israelites' inaugural worship service - in the previous chapters God lays out the commandments for the sacrificial system and the role of the priests. As I posted Sunday, we are to approach God as Holy and set apart; hence we are to treat our time of worship with a level of seriousness and reverence - we should not be flippant about how we approach God.  On the same note, we must also look at sin as a serious matter; while sin is unavoidable as that is our nature and we cannot claim to be without sin (see 1 John 1:8), we must do what we can to avoid patterns of sin.  The commentary writes how "[s]in destroys.  It destroys not only the one who sins, but others.  Sin is not stagnant, so that we sin and that's the end of it.  When we sin, sin becomes easier the next time--easier for us, and easier for those who see us sin and get away with it.  Before long sin has proliferated and more and more people are being hurt by it."  The commentary pushes us to see how the Israelites were at a pivotal moment in their history - the inaugural corporate worship led by the priests God anointed.  We are to imagine how God's tolerance of Nadab and Abihu's sin could have led to even greater and greater sin - God had to deal with it severely lest it become a much bigger problem in Israel's development as God's people.  The commentary wraps by having us look at other scriptural examples where God dealt severely with sin.  One such example is from 2 Samuel 6:1-7 where a man named Uzzah was struck down for touching the ark - a Holy thing not be to be touched by anyone other than the priests, and only touched/used in the prescribed manner directed by God.  In this scriptural example, it should also be noted that the ark should never have been put on a cart as God had already prescribed that it was to be carried by the Levites on poles on their shoulders.   A second example comes from the New Testament, where in Acts 5:1-11, a husband and wife hold back financial offerings to the church and lie about it - and both are struck down.  RC Sproul, writing on DesiringGod.com, uses the same examples in this great post about God's Holiness and justice. The key takeaway from the commentary this morning is that we are avoid sin, confront it in our own lives so as to arrest it from growing into something more dangerous than it already is.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are Holy and You desire for Your children to be Holy - You call us and You have chosen the elect to be Your ambassadors to spread Your Word.  I am beyond humbled that You would choose me and die for me. I am not deserving.  I am full of anger, harshness, and worry.  Please forgive me.  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 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.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 5

 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:6-7

I continue with my study of - Ten Men of the Bible: How God Used Imperfect People to Change the World - eBook by Max Lucado (for purchase). This morning, I continue with the story of "Paul: Never Too Far Gone for a Turnaround*".

*Title of lesson ten from the Max Lucado study.

Max Lucado's commentary* for day four focuses on Paul's words for the church in Corinth about their sexual immorality - and Lucado uses this letter not so much to focus on sexual immorality, but on sin itself, and the attitude of those of who sin and how believers should respond to sin.  The text (1 Corinthians 5:2) indicates the sinner is proud and that believers are to "hand the [sinner] over to Satan" implying that is the end of the story.  Yet John Piper makes it clear in this post that such a "hand off" to Satan is both not unique in the Bible (as Piper uses Job as just one example), it is used by God as part of His sanctifying process. Lucado also provides three scriptural examples of how God "hands off" sinners to their sin - see Romans 1:24, 26, and 28.

Lucado wants us to be firm in how we deal with sin not just in our own lives but in the lives of others, particularly in the church.  Believers are to separate themselves from sin and evil and as part of this we are to speak truth in love.  John Piper unpacks "truth in love" and the message is clear doctrinal truth in the church is paramount, and it is unifying and foundational.

Finally, Lucado encourages us to love - 1 Corinthians 13:6-7.

Discuss and comment on this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who saves me from my sin and provides Your Word to protect me from sin and the Holy Spirit to sanctify me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of who You are so full of mercy, compassion, and patience.  My sin continues.  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.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

2 Corinthians 7

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. v10

Paul writes the church in Corinth expressing some level of regret over a previous letter - a "severe" letter where Paul points out their sin - addressed to them (see also 2 Corinthians Background and Setting - MacArthur Bible Study Commentary (for purchase)). While he might have had some level of regret, he is more concerned over the Corinthians spiritual state and he was glad to hear of their repentance (v9).

Paul then makes a distinction between Godly and worldly sorry - writing that "earnestness, eagerness to clear yourselves, indignation, alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done"(v11).  It is an utter distaste of sin - as God hates sin so should we and this should drive us to pursue holiness.

John Piper helps us further understand this distinction.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who seeks to mold me to be more like You - thank You Jesus for Your patience and compassion for me...and Your concern for me.  I am not deserving of such love.  I am selfish and often neglectful of my relationship with You Lord.  Please forgive me!  Help me turn from such sin and turn 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.