“You Shall Be Holy” Leviticus 19:2 February 23, 2020

LEARNING GOALS:

➢ Holiness anticipates a willing separation unto the LORD and from the world. ➢ Holiness develops through sanctification by the LORD in our lives. ➢ Holiness opens authentic communion with the LORD.

BEFORE YOUR LIFE GROUP MEETS:

 Read the One Year Daily Readings for February 16-February 22, focusing on Leviticus 19.  Pray the Holy Spirit will both prepare lives for this lesson & work mightily during the Life Group.  Encourage your Life Group members & recent guests to join in our reading of the One Year Bible.  Review the outline below, then craft your lesson using curriculum helps linked at bellevue.org/leadership, your own trusted study resources & especially your particular knowledge of your Life Group’s needs.

LESSON OVERVIEW

I. Introduction II. Separation Is Significant (Leviticus 19:2) III. Sanctification Is Sequential (Leviticus 17:11) IV. Sacrifice Is Standard (Genesis 3:21, Leviticus 4:4 & Romans 12:1-2) V. Conclusion

I. Introduction The modern expression of , especially in the West is too often characterized by a near-sighted focus on the concerns of this life. Consumed by the urgent, the temporary, and the inconsequential, we neglect the enduring the eternal and the essential. In Leviticus, the LORD God reveals His priority on holiness, through the sacrifices, feasts and laws that would distinguish His people to the nations. Their holiness would be marked by a separation to the Lord and from the world.

II. Separation Is Significant (Leviticus 19:2)

A. Set Apart to the LORD God (Invite a Life Group participant to read Leviticus 19:2 aloud as you begin this section.) Back in Exodus 19:6, God told the Israelites, “you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” While Leviticus is often referred to as a “rulebook for priests,” its instructions were inclusive of all the tribes, not just the Levites. As Leviticus 19:2 clearly describes, God commanded , “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of .” The entire nation was to live set apart to the LORD God by adhering to the ethics detailed in its pages.

To be holy, set apart, to the LORD God, designated both the call of God and the commitment of the individual. God expressed His will that His people be separated unto Him, becoming increasingly like Him, unswayed by the preferences or practices of the nations surrounding them. Their standard of ethics was God’s character, not the cultural norms of those around them. To be a part of true Israel was to align with God’s Word, to distinguish oneself through behavior demonstrating true faith.

B. Set Apart from the World To that end, Leviticus addressed numerous areas of life wherein holiness was to be demonstrated. Whether in the particular sacrifices at the or the practical standards in a civil society, the Israelites were to be set apart from the world around them.

As God’s people had been freed from Egyptian slavery, they were to avoid becoming entrapped in the idolatrous, destructive customs of the pagans they would confront going forward. God intended to use the Israelites’ divinely revealed practice of holiness to draw the nations to Himself. Without a visible difference in their manner of life, the Israelites could not truly represent the LORD God.

Quote: “True holiness isn't cold and deadening - it's warm and inviting. It's irresistible. Those who think otherwise have never seen it, but only its caricatures.” – Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth

Discussion: In what ways might Christians live “set apart” today in order to draw others to the Lord?

III. Sanctification Is Sequential (Leviticus 17:11)

A. God Starts Us with Cleansing. (Invite a Life Group participant to read Leviticus 17:11 aloud as you begin this section.) The various sacrifices of the can be generally divided into three types. The first were those that addressed the blotting out, removal or atonement of sin. Both the sin and the trespass offerings were of this non-voluntary type and were admissions the worshipper had committed an offence against God or a fellow Israelite respectively.

As “non-sweet savor” offerings they underlined the bitterness of sin. The trespass offering was offered only after restitution had been made to one’s neighbor. These offerings allowed for the sin to be removed as hindrances to personal holiness before God and man.

B. God Strengthens Us with Consecration. The second type of sacrifices regarded the worshippers’ consecration or devotion to the LORD God. These voluntary gifts included the burnt and meal offerings. In consecrating themselves through the burnt offering, the Israelites illustrated their dedication and surrender to the LORD. The sacrificial animal would be completely consumed upon the altar, as the LORD received it.

The meal offering, comprised of fine, white flour without any leaven, was another picture of consecrated devotion. Along with oil, frankincense, and salt, a portion of the mixture was burned upon the altar and the rest cooked. The absence of leaven spoke of their willingness to live apart from sin in their lives, and foreshadowed the sinless perfection of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

C. God Satisfies Us with Communion. The peace offering was one which spoke of the communion enjoyed by a life being sanctified by the LORD God. In this sacrifice, the fat portions were consumed upon the altar, received by God in that manner, the breast and shoulder portions were given to the priest, and the remainder was returned and eaten by the worshipper. Thus, this “fellowship” offering portrayed a communion between God and man, through His chosen Mediator.

Such rapport between God and His children is unparalleled in all the world! What was lost in the fall God desired, and still desires, to restore. The sacrificial system highlighted the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man and the costliness of redemption. However, for those who will trust and obey, there is great satisfaction in a restored relationship. That restoration was wrought ultimately by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary, “for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.”

Quote: “Advance in the Christian life comes not by the work of the Holy Spirit alone, nor by our work alone, but by our responding to and cooperating with the grace the Holy Spirit initiates and sustains.” – Donald S. Whitney

Discussion: What hinders authentic communion with Christ in our lives today?

IV. Sacrifice Is Standard (Genesis 3:21; Leviticus 4:4; Romans 12:1-2)

A. The Provision of the LORD (Invite a few Life Group participants to read Gen. 3:21, Lev.1:4 & Rom. 12:1-2 aloud as you begin this section.) From the moment of Adam’s sinful choice, sin demanded an atoning sacrifice. As both a physical and spiritual covering, “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” Their feeble, foolish attempts to cover their own nakedness were insufficient. God Himself made the first sacrifice, providing for them what they could not.

The provision of the Lord in Genesis 3:21 was a foreshadowing of the sacrificial system detailed in Leviticus, and of His greater, final provision in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, the Biblical theme of sacrifice was established from the beginning of human history.

B. The Precept within the Law Recorded the instructions from the LORD regarding a sin offering, Moses wrote, “He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slay the bull before the LORD.” The worshipper, by placing his hand on the sacrificial animal’s head, whether a bull, goat, or lamb, acknowledged his sin, his guilt before God, and his need for forgiveness.

Such sacrifices were effectual in measure yet requiring repetition throughout a worshipper’s lifetime. That reality in the entire sacrificial system pointed toward the promise of God’s own sacrifice to come. However, it also highlighted another, enduring precept within the Law. A cleansed life of consecrated communion involved continuing personal sacrifice.

Yes, holiness to the LORD meant separating from the world, including much that was once held dear. It called, and still calls, His people to live with open hands, turned upward to both receive from the Lord and offer to the Lord all things.

C. The Pattern for Our Lives In Romans 12:1-2, Paul emphasized the idea that sacrifice is standard: “Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The unquestionable sufficiency of Christ’s own sacrifice for the sin of all mankind did not negate the call to personal sacrifice. Believers respond willingly, gratefully respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ by daily taking up their cross, separating themselves to the Lord and from the world.

This pattern for our lives is perpetual. Life in Christ continually awakens us to the necessity of dying to ourselves. As His love transforms us, conforming to this world system grows ludicrous. Renewed minds assess all things differently, better able to “prove what the will of God is.” The

Quote: “It's not hard to decide what you want your life to be about. What's hard, she said, is figuring out what you're willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about.” ― Shauna Niequist

Discussion: What is the Savior calling you to set aside so that He might set you apart for greater usefulness in His kingdom?

V. Conclusion

A. Lesson Review 1. Separation Is Significant 2. Sanctification Is Sequential 3. Sacrifice Is Standard

B. Final Thoughts Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord; Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word. Make friends of God's children, help those who are weak, Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on; Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone. By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be; Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide; And run not before Him, whatever betide. In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord, And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul, Each thought and each motive beneath His control. Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love, Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above. – John Longhurst