Be Holy. Becoming "Set Apart" for God

152 Pages·2011·0.12 MB·English

by  Warren W. Wiersbe

BE HOLY
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All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced
or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
(Public Domain.) Scripture quotations marked are taken from the Holy Bible, New International
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Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan. All rights reserved; are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by
NKJV
Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
LCCN 2010934945
ISBN 978-1-4347-0053-7
eISBN 978-1-4347-0265-4
© 1994 Warren W. Wiersbe First edition of Be Holy published by Victor Books®
in 1994 © Warren W. Wiersbe, ISBN 1-56476-335-8
The Team: Karen Lee-Thorp, Amy Kiechlin, Sarah Schultz, Jack Campbell, and Karen Athen Series Cover
Design: John Hamilton Design Cover Photo: iStockphoto Second Edition 2010
Contents
The Big Idea: An Introduction to Be Holy by Ken Baugh A Word from the
Author
1. The Most Important Thing in the World
2. The Sacrifices and the Savior (Leviticus 1—7) 3. A Kingdom of Priests
(Leviticus 8—10) 4. Cleanliness and Godliness (Leviticus 11—12) 5. The Great
Physician (Leviticus 13—15)
6. Israel’s High and Holy Day (Leviticus 16) 7. Holiness Is a Practical Thing
(Leviticus 17—20) 8. The Cost of Spiritual Leadership (Leviticus 21—22) 9.
The Calendar That Tells the Future (Leviticus 23) 10. Holy, Holy, Holy
(Leviticus 24)
11. This Land Is God’s Land (Leviticus 25) 12. The Big Word “If” (Leviticus 26
—27)
13. Learning from Leviticus
Notes
The Big Idea An Introduction to Be
Holy by Ken Baugh Where were you on
September 11, 2001? When I learned
that America was under attack, I was
sitting in a staff meeting at the church I
was serving just outside Washington,
D.C. I had friends who worked at the
White House and on Capitol Hill, and
many members of our congregation
worked at the Pentagon, including the
husband of one of our staffers. We
waited tensely for news about our
friends as we watched the towers of the
World Trade Center burn. As people
jumped to their deaths from the burning
buildings, and as the buildings
ultimately collapsed, I realized that this
day would change America forever.
As a pastor, I was deeply affected by this event, and I promised that I would
never let God’s people forget that terrible day. Even now that I serve a
congregation in Southern California, on the weekend before every September 11,
our church remembers those who died on that tragic day, and we pray for the
many loved ones who were left behind. There are certain events that change
everything, and September 11, 2001, was one of those events.
Two thousand years ago, there was another event that changed everything.
Jesus, sitting in an upper room in Jerusalem, told His disciples of His impending
death. The apostle Paul reminds us of what took place on that historic night: The
Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given
thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in
remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in
remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Cor. 11:23–26 ) Jesus’ death on
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the cross the next day changed everything forever. His atoning work on the cross
sums up the Big Idea of the book of Leviticus, because that book points to “the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 ). Almost
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everything in Leviticus anticipates the life and death of Jesus. The sacrifices,
festivals, rituals, and laws foreshadow God’s redemptive plan. Jesus becomes
the means to remove the guilt and penalty for sin through His substitutionary
death on the cross. His death provides the final atonement for all sin.
Each of the five sacrifices that Leviticus requires of the Israelites points to
Jesus’ life and death. The burnt offering symbolizes Jesus’ offering of Himself
to the Father as the spotless Lamb of God. The grain offering points to Jesus’
life, with the flour representing His perfect character in word and deed. The
fellowship offering symbolizes the peace we have with God through Christ (Col.
1:20). The sin offering explains Jesus’ death on the cross, when He took the
place of every sinner who would ever believe. Finally, the guilt offering points
to Jesus’ payment for our sins against others. None of these sacrifices actually
forgives sin, but they point toward the ultimate sacrifice of God’s Son, who
makes complete atonement for all sin (Heb. 10).
It is through Jesus’ death that every believer is made holy in the sight of
almighty God: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21 ). But not only has
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Jesus provided the means for our positional holiness, He also demands us to live
with a practical holiness: “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy
life” (1 Thess. 4:7 ).
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This practical holiness is possible only through the power of the Holy Spirit,
who gives us both the will and desire to obey Jesus’ commands (Phil. 2:13). A.
W. Tozer said, “The true church understands that it must live a disciplined life.
Although our High Priest loves us in spite of our weaknesses and failures, He
encourages us to be a holy people because He is a holy God. Holiness may be an
unpopular subject in some churches, but holiness in the Christian life is a
precious treasure in God’s sight.”1
I think you can see how important and practical the book of Leviticus is for
us today. It speaks of the finished work of Christ on the cross that secures our
positional and practical holiness. As you study Leviticus, I encourage you to
look for more symbols and signposts of Christ. You may even want to use the
book of Hebrews to help. As you do, remember that Jesus’ death on the cross
two thousand years ago changed everything forever.
***
Dr. Wiersbe’s commentaries have been a source of guidance and strength to me
over the many years that I have been a pastor. His unique style is not overly
academic, but theologically sound. He explains the deep truths of Scripture in a
way that everyone can understand and apply. Whether you’re a Bible scholar or
a brand-new believer in Christ, you will benefit, as I have, from Warren’s
insights. With your Bible in one hand and Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary in the
other, you will be able to accurately unpack the deep truths of God’s Word and
learn how to apply them to your life.
Drink deeply, my friend, of the truths of God’s Word, for in them you will
find Jesus Christ, and there is freedom, peace, assurance, and joy.
—Ken Baugh Pastor of Coast Hills Community Church Aliso Viejo, California
A Word from the Author With
prophetic insight, A. W. Tozer wrote
many years ago: Were some watcher or
holy one from the bright world above to
come among us for a time with the
power to diagnose the spiritual ills of
church people, there is one entry which
I am quite sure would appear on the vast
majority of his reports: Definite
evidence of chronic spiritual lassitude;
level of moral enthusiasm extremely
low.1
Whatever else the professing Christian church may be known for today—
great crowds, expensive buildings, big budgets, political clout—it’s not
distinguished for its holiness. Bible-believing evangelical Christians make up a
sizable minority in the United States, and our presence isn’t making much of an
impact on society. The salt seems to have lost its saltiness, and the light is so
well hidden that the marketplace is quite dark.
Eight times in Scripture, God said to His people, “Be holy, for I am holy!”2
This is one of the major themes of Leviticus, a book that teaches us how to avoid
sin and how to grow in holiness. My prayer is that the study and application of
the spiritual principles in Leviticus will make us more like Jesus Christ and