Leviticus, Pathway to Presence: Lifestyle

Sunday we’re going to jump into one of the most controversial texts in our culture today, Levitical purity laws. Non-Christians often accuse the church of picking and choosing what Levitical laws they are going to obey. In these chapters (11-15, 18-20), God lists practices that make his people unclean, like eating rabbit, and practices that are an abomination, like sex with a relative. The world’s argument goes like this, “You aren’t bound by the Levitical food laws, so you shouldn’t be bound by the Levitical sexual laws.” This is a foolish argument, easily countered with even a cursory examination, but many believers don’t know how to respond. After our study Sunday, you will be able to respond.

These chapters lay out two distinct series of laws required by those who live in God’s presence. If the nation wants to remain in his presence, they must establish a culture of holiness. Some laws are distinctions that God makes between what is clean and unclean, differentiating his people from their neighboring nations. For cleanliness laws, like touching a dead body, there is always a remedy (baptism ceremonies and sacrifices). The other set of laws govern morality and willful idolatry. For these “abominations”, like practicing sorcery or homosexuality, there is no remedy. These are capital offences that result in the death penalty.

For God’s people today, the ceremonial distinctions are removed in Christ, who is our holiness. While the requirements for a moral life (sexual expression and idolatry) remain fully intact in the New Testament, there is forgiveness and transformation available in Jesus. So come Sunday, ready to consider God’s call to holiness.