You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean.
If there is a key verse for the book of Leviticus the above verse would be it. In fact, if there were a key verse for Christian living, this verse would be a good candidate.
My church background is in the "holiness" denominations. The emphasis on living holy, being holy, has been drilled into my mind from a very young age. It can lead to a very legalistic lifestyle, if you don't discover the grace of God and learn trust in forgiveness and authenticity.
All that aside, the imperative on the Christian lifestyle is to discover the holy; to discover the holiness of God through Christ. Those discoveries actually translate into the things we do, what we read, what we watch, how we speak, how we love... There is a constant struggle to decipher between the holy and the common and to make the right choice...to choose the life God offers.
There is only ONE WAY to God and it is the path of holiness. That path leads directly through the cross of Christ and not on our own efforts. Praise God. (For it is by grace that we are saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.) Jesus said that he is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to God but through him.
I have to keep this truth in mind when reading Leviticus 10. Because the picture of God I see in this chapter seems so much the opposite of the gracious and loving Father I've come to know. However, my God is still a holy God and through some spiritual law of the universe, that I do not fully comprehend, He cannot have sin in His presence. The path of holiness was and still is our only access to the Father.
For more on the story of Leviticus 10, read my next posting...Four Sons of Aaron and One Holy God
My church background is in the "holiness" denominations. The emphasis on living holy, being holy, has been drilled into my mind from a very young age. It can lead to a very legalistic lifestyle, if you don't discover the grace of God and learn trust in forgiveness and authenticity.
All that aside, the imperative on the Christian lifestyle is to discover the holy; to discover the holiness of God through Christ. Those discoveries actually translate into the things we do, what we read, what we watch, how we speak, how we love... There is a constant struggle to decipher between the holy and the common and to make the right choice...to choose the life God offers.
There is only ONE WAY to God and it is the path of holiness. That path leads directly through the cross of Christ and not on our own efforts. Praise God. (For it is by grace that we are saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.) Jesus said that he is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to God but through him.
I have to keep this truth in mind when reading Leviticus 10. Because the picture of God I see in this chapter seems so much the opposite of the gracious and loving Father I've come to know. However, my God is still a holy God and through some spiritual law of the universe, that I do not fully comprehend, He cannot have sin in His presence. The path of holiness was and still is our only access to the Father.
For more on the story of Leviticus 10, read my next posting...Four Sons of Aaron and One Holy God
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