Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz19950910.htm

THRU THE BIBLE SYNTHESIS
"Part IV: Leviticus - God's Call For A Separated Witness"

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

(1) At Nepaug Church, we do not advocate our young women joining the Masonic Lodge's Rainbow Girls in spite of its many wholesome efforts that help the community. We believe that it is too Biblically errant for the Christian to belong to such a group . Are we too narrow and unloving to hold to such a separation from such upstanding community organizations?!

(2) Though a number of Evangelical leaders have taken a stand of uniting with the Roman Catholic Church in anti-abortion, pro-family political forums, claiming that Evangelicals should not try proselytizing members of the Catholic Church, at Nepaug we do not carry on ecclesiastical ties or cooperative efforts with this church group. Are we thus too narrow and unloving to take such a stand against another group in Christendom?!

(3) Moody Monthly has an article in the current September issue entitled, "Guilt-Free Praying" by Robert Jeffress that has an error! Pastor Jeffress writes that believers do not need to confess their sins as God already dealt with the m at the cross. Thus, sin in our lives will not hinder our prayers being answered no matter what Psalm 66:18 says!

Well, Moody Bible Institute is the granddaddy of all Evangelical Bible Schools in America, is as doctrinally solid as you can find, and I am sure that a correction in this error will be forthcoming next month! However, we mention it here as a stand agains t error. Why? Why not let it just go instead of fussing over something that will probably be corrected next month anyway? Isn't that being too unloving?!



Can we really be a loving group of people while saying "no" to cooperating organizationally with the upstanding citizens in the Masonic Lodge's Rainbow Girls and the Roman Catholic Church?! Can we love and say "no" in our stand against an error taught in September's Moody Monthly?! How about saying "no" in personal matters for the same reason?



(We turn to the "Need" section of the sermon . . . )



Need: "The Bible says that God is love, 1 John 4:8. Does this mean that taking a negative stand at times about what others believe or do is wrongfully too narrow and judgmental? Some think I must love by always being cooperative with others, so I need an answer!"
  1. Leviticus presents Israel's calling to live a testimonial lifestyle of separation from sin and separation unto a loving but holy God.
    1. God's plan to advance His rule versus evil apostasy on the earth is defined theologically in the book of Leviticus.
      1. Though God created the world with man as ruler, sin caused chaos and Satan ended up the god of this world, Gen. 1-5; 2 Cor. 4:4.
      2. God thus renewed history, using Noah's family via a flood, 6-9:17.
      3. Yet, Noah's descendant, Nimrod began an apostasy, Rv. 17:5-6.
      4. Accordingly, God chose godly Abraham to start a nation that would influence the world to check Nimrod's apostasy, Gn. 12:1-3.
      5. After God miraculously salvaged Israel from Egyptian bondage, He organized them into a theocracy to be related to Him, Exodus 1-40.
      6. However, the world needed to distinguish the true way for blessing:
        1. Paganism warped God's way of blessing by grace: (a) God slew animals substitutionally to supply skins by grace to clothe man in Gn. 3:19. (b) Yet, paganism said the sacrificial animal's life, being in its blood, could promote the worshipper's life if he ate its blood by works when it was still alive, I.S.B.E., IV, p. 2639-2640. This error led to a works idea of gaining salvation!
        2. The book of Leviticus supports the Gen. 3:19 stand of God's blessing by grace through substitutionary sacrifice!
    2. We itemize how the book of Leviticus advances this truth as follows:
      1. When God first entered the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34-38), He immediately ordered how Israel was to live in His presence to gain His blessing, Lev. 1:1. This order comprises the book of Leviticus!
      2. Leviticus 1:1-7:38 urges separation from pagan sacrifice error:
        1. The burnt offering was not eaten, but burned upon the altar.
        2. The grain offering, totally of vegetation, taught that man owed God--not animal lifeblood-- his living sustenance, Lev. 2:1-16.
        3. The peace offering had communion with God, not animals, 3:1ff.
        4. The sin offering showed the need to handle sins of ignorance, weakness or waywardness, by grace, not works, Lev. 4:1-5:13!
        5. The trespass offering dealt with sins requiring amends, 5:14-6:7.
        6. Opposite paganism, each of the edible offerings above were eaten after the animal was dead while refraining from eating its blood. This testified that God blessed by His grace through a substitutionary sacrifice apart from self-help works, 6:8-7:38!
      3. A lifestyle for overseers is given in Lev. 8:1-10:20 that emphasizes separation from sin and separation unto God for acceptable service.
      4. Laws of one's personal testimony before others are outlined in Lev. 11:1-16:34. Noteworthy here is a diet that restricts Israel from eating predatory animals who taste of the blood of their living prey, Lev. 11:1-47, B.K.C., O.T., p. 190-191! Even the diet was designed to show that Israel was standing totally untainted by paganism's self-help view of gaining life by eating of live animals!
      5. Leviticus 17:1-27:34 provides laws of cooperative living in the community, Lev. 17:1-27:34. Since life is in the blood, blood is not to be eaten in the community to separate it from paganism, 17:5-12.
  2. Leviticus adds to the "thread of redemption" with the sacrificial system prefiguring Christ's substitutionary atonement by GRACE:
    1. The burnt offering pictures Christ's complete offering for the sins of the world where man's offerings were futile, Heb. 10:5-7.
    2. The grain offering of pure vegetarian items pictures the perfect life of Christ that qualified Him alone as sinful man's substitute, 2 Cor. 5:21.
    3. The peace offering, eaten by offerer and priest, illustrates total fellowship between God and man by way of Christ alone, Ro. 5:1-2.
    4. The sin offering previews Christ's death for sin by grace, 2 Cor. 5:21.
    5. The trespass offering with its added restitution for harms shows Christ graciously offering both soul and body (120%) to satisfy God's wrath and make all amends for harms, Ry. St. Bib., KJV ftn., Is. 53:10-12.
Application: To enjoy God's blessing, we must (1) believe on Christ's substitutionary atonement to receive eternal life by grace (Jn. 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:17). (2) As believers, we must walk separated from sin and unto God by (a) confessing our sins (1 J. 1:9) (b) and depending on God's Spirit for behavior control (Ga. 5:16-23) to (c) obey Scripture, 1 J. 2:3-6. (3) In doing so, we at times are Biblically required to take stands that are separate from sinners to witness against their error that we might communicate their need to repent and thus be blessed by a loving, holy God! (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)

Lesson: Since God is loving BUT ALSO righteous, Israel was to live SEPARATED FROM pagan works-theology BEFORE their lost neighbors that these neighbors might REPENT from Nimrodian self-help paganism and ENJOY God's blessings BY PURE GRACE! (Jn. 3:16)

Conclusion: (To show the need . . . )

 (1) Are we loving to take a stand against our young women joining the Lodge's Rainbow Girls? Well, consider these Masonic beliefs:

Masonic author, Thomas Milton Steward, in his book, Symbolic Teaching on Masonry and Its Message, wrote the following about the cross of Christ: "Did Jesus count Himself, conceive of Himself as a proprietary sacrifice and of His work as an expiatio n (to atone for sin)? The only answer possible is, clearly, He did not. . . " (Bibl. Evang.)

Thus, to belong to a Masonic group is to identify with a group that denies the atonement of Christ for sin, and that denies the gospel! In denying the gospel, it isolates unwitting people from gaining eternal life through believing Christ's gospel! Thus, we take a stand against the Rainbow Girls in love that the dear people in it can be saved!

(2) Are we loving to stand against cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church though some evangelicals do? Well, consider this:

After his near assassination on May 13, 1981, the anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1917 at Fatima, Portugal, Pope John Paul II believed that "Our Lady of Fatima" had spared his life. Thus, he went there and, before the statue of t he apparition, consecrated the world to her on May 13, 1984! Now, this apparition promised, in "her" words: "I promise to assist at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation all those who . . . make reparation t o me." (Lucia Speaks on the Message of Fatima, Ave Maria Institute, p. 26, 30-31,47 as quoted in Dave Hunt's newsletter, CIB Bulletin, March 1990, vol. 6, No. 3) Thus, cooperation with the Catholic Church today means cooperating with a group promoting salvation through Mary in violation of Eph. 2:8-9! Thus, we stand in love against cooperating with this group that the dear people in it can be warned to believe the truth and be truly eternally saved!

(3) Regarding our stand about the error in September's Moody Monthly article that we don't need to confess sins to get answers to prayer, keep in mind that Paul strictly forbids our living in sin as believers, Rom. 6:1-2. Not confessing our s ins also leads to powerless prayer (1 John 3:22), and that makes the believer unproductive in living for Christ according to John 15:1-8! We must take a stand against this error if we want believers to be effective witnesses in reaching the lost!