Leviticus 19:2;
1 Peter 1:13-23
"I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy."
(LEVITICUS 11:45)
Our God is a God of grace. He calls us to be holy yet realizes that on our own we could never maintain His perfect standard. So in His unending compassion and mercy, He provides a sacrificial system and a day for atonement to be made. But we needed something more...something better. The Old Testament sacrifices could never cleanse a man from within. Animal sacrifices could never cleanse the conscience, and they could never do anything for a person's heart.
Jesus didn't need to keep offering His sacrifice year after year. In one moment in time, with one act of perfect love, God gave us exactly what we required to stand complete and holy before Him. Jesus the Messiah "did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12). "For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence" (Hebrews 9:24).
INSIGHT
"MAN MAY DISMISS COMPASSION FROM HIS HEART, BUT GOD NEVER WILL."
(WILLIAM COWPER)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Nahum 1-3
Proverbs 24
Revelation 3-5
Leviticus 19:2
New International Version (NIV)
2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
1 Peter 1:13-23
New International Version (NIV)
Be Holy
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.[b] 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Peter 1:16 Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2
b. 1 Peter 1:22 Some early manuscripts from a pure heart
THE MESSIAH IS COMING
with Dr. Mark Strauss
He was the one the prophets spoke of, and the entire Old Testament points to His coming. Finally, 2,000 years ago, the Messiah came to Earth as a baby born in a manger.
THE ODES OF CHRISTMAS
What did Christians sing before there were Christmas carols? The Odes date back to the time when the Apostle John would have been alive. Listen to what they may have sounded like.
No comments:
Post a Comment