INSTRUCTIONS ON LIVING HOLY

Leviticus 19:1-2,37

The Lord also said to Moses,

“Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

“You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the Lord.”

All the instructions Moses gave the children of Israel were for a reason. It was for their well being. Some of these commandments were given because they were camped in the wilderness some were clearly for when the arrived at the promise land.

Most of the laws pertained to the children of Israel alone, however we will note that some included all foreigners living with them.

When Christ came, He brought light into the law, He made us see what the law truly was about and fulfilled them. Just as He said:

Matthew 5:17-20

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.

So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

“But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

Christ came to fulfill the law, those He has fulfilled cannot be practiced in ignorance anymore. For instance, the Sabbath:

Matthew 12:8

For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

Another one was the use of animals for sacrifices. Christ became the everlasting sacrifice given once and for all. Therefore, we cannot make any other sacrifice, anyone doing that is just wasting time.

Hebrews 10:5-10

That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, 

“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. 

But you have given me a body to offer.

You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.

Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— 

    as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”

First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses).

Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.

For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

This issue of living holy to the Lord as concerning keeping the law of Moses is not new. It came up doing the time of the apostles. Some Jewish believers were trying to force the laws on gentile converts, the apostles had to meet to clarify the matter:

Acts 15:1,5-6,19-20

While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.”

So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue.

“And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood.

Listen, Jesus said:

Matthew 23:3-4

So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.

They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

The true meaning of the summary of the law is love:

Matthew 22:36-40

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’

This is the first and greatest commandment.

A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

So we must understand what the law is about, it is about love for the Heavenly Father and love for our fellow humans.

Are we selective about the law? No, however, we walk by grace and truth, in doing this we walk in a higher law. 

Sin remains sin and we have no part in it, however we do not return to bondage by bringing back again what Christ has redeemed us from.

We avoid the abominables as the apostles instructed the gentile converts and live in obedience giving the Holy Spirit full access to direct our lives.

We must be holy as our Heavenly Father is holy.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father keep me in Your righteousness which is in Christ Jesus, may I not sin against You but walk in love, doing Your will and being a blessing to others. Glory to Your name Lord. Lead me as I go out this day and everyday, may I prosper in this land of the living and in eternity dwell with You after this life. Glory to Your name Lord.

He calls us blessed.

Love

@the watcher