Leviticus: the necessity of holiness

It seems to me that Leviticus is one of the most neglected books of the Bible. It's easy to understand why: it starts with seven chapters about different types of offerings, then talks about the priesthood of Aaron, then gives loads of laws which seem fairly obscure. A lot of them aren't applicable for Christians today; they have been fulfilled in Jesus' death and resurrection. We don't have a levitical priesthood anymore, nor do we offer sacrifices, because Jesus is our great High Priest and His sacrifice was offered once for all (see Hebrews 10). But it does bug me that Leviticus gets written off, especially the moral laws, because so many of the principles in those laws still stand today. Where did Jesus get 'you shall love your neighbour as yourself' from (see Matt 22:39)? Leviticus 19:18.

The key thing to remember when reading Leviticus is that at the heart of the book is the holiness of God and how God's people are to reflect that holiness. This principal is very relevant for Christians today; after all, God doesn't change. He is still holy. He still requires holiness from His people. That's one of the main ways Leviticus is used in the New Testament. Peter quotes it in his letter:

'As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”' (1 Pet 1:14-16)

Peter is quoting from Leviticus 11:44 and Leviticus 19:2.

In some ways, the ways in which people demonstrate holiness have changed. In Leviticus there were laws which gave a symbolic representation of holiness and by following them, God's people would be separate from other nations. We don't have these symbolic ritual laws anymore, like purification rites (Lev 12), not eating certain animals (Lev 11, see also Acts 10) and circumcision (Lev 12:8). It's the moral perspective of Leviticus which strikes me the most: be holy in your sexuality or die (Lev 20:10-16), be holy in your words about God or die (Lev 24:10-23), be holy in your worship or die (Lev 10:1-20). Why did God judge people so harshly for breaking laws in the Old Testament? Because in their disobedience, they revealed that they really cared little for Him. Holiness is a key test of our devotion to the LORD, and the New Testament continues this same perspective:

'Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practise homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.' 1 Cor 6:9-11.

From a New Testament perspective then, being born again is the beginning of a journey to holiness. Before we came to Christ, there was no way we could be holy. We were lost in sin. But once He saved us, He gave us His Spirit and, through His Spirit, the power to say 'no' to our flesh.

'His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.' 2 Peter 1:3-8

There's this amazing harmony in these verses of God's power in us and our own effort working together to make us holy. It's not salvation by works; it's spiritual growth, and this doesn't happen if we just sit around and fail to exercise our faith in action, or spiritual disciplines like prayer, reading the Word, helping the needy. The New Testament doesn't promise us perfection in this life; it tells us this will be a battle and a struggle which we need spiritual weapons to fight (Eph 6). But there is a sense that we will increase in practical holiness as we grow in spiritual maturity and as our passion for God takes over more and more of our hearts, souls and minds.

Our fight against sin will be most effective when we are fixing our eyes on Jesus, and exposing our sin to others with confession and prayer so that it loses its power and grip on our lives. The devil wants you to wallow in secret sin and doubt your salvation and the efficacy of Christ's redemption; the Spirit wants to convict you of sin so that you see it for what it really is, and see victory over it through Jesus' blood shed for you on the cross.

'Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.' 2 Cor 7:1

'Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.' 1 John 3:2-3

Noah, a preacher of righteousness

With the recent film release of 'Noah', it seems like our attention is being drawn again to the account in Genesis of the Flood. The film, with obvious film-makers' poetic license, explores what this epic event in human history may have looked like (or, from the director's perspective, imagines how a myth would have looked in reality). I was thinking a few months ago about Noah as I was reading through Genesis, and thinking through what we are meant to make of him and the story of God decisively acting to wipe out every living creature except those on the ark - essentially, to bring chaos and de-create what was created, ready for a new beginning solidified in the call of Abram in Genesis 12. The great thing about the Bible is that it offers its own commentary on these events, and 2 Peter 2 is really helpful in thinking over Genesis 6-9. Peter is looking ahead towards the future judgement that will come upon the false teachers who have been plaguing the church, and he draws upon several accounts in Genesis to illustrate his point that 'the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.' (v9) In mentioning the Flood, Peter says that God 'protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness' (v5). So let's unpack exactly what that might mean, and then think about how it applies to us today.

1. Noah knew God was righteous
To be a 'preacher of righteousness', Noah would have had to have known that it is a key aspect of God's character and very nature and being. Genesis 6:9 says that 'Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.' The last clause of that verse, that he walked faithfully with God, is not detachable in meaning from the description of Noah as righteous; they are intrinsically linked. It wasn't that Noah was a decent guy, so God decided to save him and his family. Noah knew God, and although we aren't given much detail as to how he related to God on a daily basis or how he knew what he knew about God, we can surmise that God had revealed something of His character and heart to Noah. God had shared His hatred of sin and His plan to destroy His creation with Noah, but He had also shared a promise to establish His covenant with Noah and save him and his family. (see Genesis 6:11-21). As a result, Noah knew God was a righteous God. He must have known about God's role as Creator and sustainer of the whole earth, and therefore God's power to destroy it as well. He must also have known that God would never lie but always keep His word. His knowledge of these truths resulted in his obedience when God told him to build an ark. He acted in faith, because he knew God was righteous and would keep His promise to save him.

2. Noah knew God's righteousness meant impending judgement
As a necessary consequence of God's righteousness, He has to judge sin. Noah warned his generation that there was a God who saw their sin and was imminently about to bring cataclysmic judgement upon the whole earth. The fact that only 8 people were saved on the ark was not due to a lack of mercy on God's part, but of humanity's stubborn refusal to repent and believe. The description of Noah as a 'preacher of righteousness' encapsulates what it must have meant to be someone living in such a fallen world, with the certain knowledge of God's coming judgement, and to have a godly desire to see men saved. The film has been criticised for showing Noah to be increasingly vindictive against humanity, more concerned about saving animals than men's souls. I don't think that can match up with the biblical description of this righteous man.

3. Noah lived a righteous life of faith
Noah's own righteousness came by his faith and the way that he lived his faith out. He found grace in the eyes of the Lord and God gave him the privilege of His covenant and of being the father of all future generations. It must have been a fearful thing to be on the ark, knowing you were the only survivors of a world-wide catastrophe. Perhaps Noah and his family heard the people outside the ark perishing, who once scoffed at what he was doing. Perhaps there was also an element o relief, that all the ungodly enemies of God, who would have been enemies to Noah too, were now destroyed.
Noah was human and flawed as his drunkenness after the Flood shows, but still he demonstrated a life of faith, which made him righteous in God's eyes.

How can we be preachers of righteousness?
As Christian believers, we have a fuller revelation of God's righteousness and the righteousness that is ours by faith: in Jesus Christ. In Christ we see God-in-flesh, His holiness lived out perfectly in human form. On the cross we see the righteousness of God punishing sin, and the righteousness of Christ as the innocent, perfect sacrifice. If we are in Christ, our sins have been dealt with, the penalty has been paid, and His righteousness is credited to our account (2 Cor 5:21).
In our generation, we see evil and wickedness just as Noah did- perhaps with some new outlets due to modern technology. Pornography and sexual immorality are facts of modern society which have escalated far beyond control, to the growing anxiety of politicians. We have saved thousands of childrens' lives through vaccinations and medical advances, yet we kill 500 unborn children every day through abortion. Our generation needs to hear the truth about God's righteousness and the coming Day of judgement when Christ will return. They will only be saved from an eternity in hell if they repent and believe the gospel of Christ. Are we boldly proclaiming this word of truth? And are we modelling in our lives the righteousness of a life of faith, as we seek to imitate Christ? There is much challenge in the story of Noah, this hero of faith, and perhaps this element of challenge gets overlooked because we are too busy fussing about the historicity of the account and the hows and whys of the earth being deluged. Let's not get distracted from the main point: Noah was a preacher of righteousness. We should be too!