"What health
is to the body, holiness is to the soul."
I always appreciate Warren Wiersbe for putting theology into layman’s terms without dumbing it down. Of the almost twenty “Be” studies that I have done, Be Holy may be one of the most helpful so far.
Almost
everything in Leviticus anticipates the life and death of Jesus, the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world. 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. (p. 8)
Wiersbe is
quick to point out that this is not just positional holiness (what God does for
us) but practical as well (what God does in us): “For God did not call us to be
impure, but to live a holy life.” (1 Thess 4:7, p. 9) He laments that the chief
pursuit of most people today (including Christians) is happiness, not holiness.
They want Jesus to solve their problems and carry their burdens, but they don’t
want Him to control their lives and change their character.
Much
confusion surrounds the idea of “law-keeping” for the redeemed Christian and
Wiersbe responds: While obedience to the the law isn’t God’s way of salvation
(see Romans 3:19-20, Galatians 3:21-29), a love for holiness and a desire to
obey and please God are certainly evidences that we are the children of God.
After we are saved, our obedience to the will of God, as revealed in the Word
of God, is the basis for fellowshipping with God and enjoying the abundant life
He wants us to have. (p. 15)
He concludes the book with the reminder that “Eight times in Scripture,
God said, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.' Since God’s commandments are God’s
enablements, this commandment assures us that it is possible to live a holy
life.
1 comment:
I've read several of Wiersbe's "Be" commentaries, and this is one of the best. I think I got more from this trip through Leviticus than I ever have before.
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