Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
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Scratching
the Surface of Leviticus
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Most churches
have officers like deacons, trustees, elders, and so on.
While different
churches understand the functions of those labels/officers in different ways,
all of 'em agree with Paul, "We each have different work to do. So
we belong to each other; and each needs all the others."
Churches work
best when they recognize and celebrate interdependence as a reflection of
dependence upon God as Source, Starter, Sovereign, and Savior.
As part of Paul's
mentoring Timothy as a young pastor, he said church officers "must be
above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable,
hospitable, an apt teacher, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not
quarrelsome and not a lover of money...Moreover, he must be well thought of by
outsiders."
My particular
church has said "those who undertake particular ministries should be
persons of strong faith, dedicated discipleship and love of Jesus Christ as
Savior and Lord. Their manner of life should be a demonstration of the
Christian gospel in the Church and in the world."
Whoa.
That's a lot to
swallow.
I'll never forget
an elder who asked after considering such prerequisites for church leadership,
"Who's left? I don't think I've ever met anyone who meets all of
those qualifications?"
He was/remains
right.
God came in Jesus
because we need Him to save us from the penalty of not meeting those
expectations.
God knows
nobody's perfect.
Excusing bad
grammar like He excuses bad behavior if we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, the
best that's humanly possible is being more
better than worse as we try to honor Him as our Source, Starter,
Sovereign, and Savior.
Simply, church
officers do their best with His help to talk (confession), walk, (conduct), and
look (countenance) like He is their Source, Starter, Sovereign, and Savior.
It's called
holiness.
Geezers who sing
"Take Time to Be Holy" and succeeding generations who sing
"Wholly Yours" with the David Crowder Band know it means being so
dedicated to God that Paul's revelation about an increasingly intimate relationship
with Him becomes real: "It is no longer I who live but Jesus who lives in/through
me."
That's what
Leviticus is all about; praying and laboring to be holy for our Source,
Starter, Sovereign, and Savior.
Or as Dr. Macleod
often lectured his seminary students, "God acts for us and our salvation and we respond by worshiping
Him."
Leviticus, which
sometimes just seems like a bunch of laws about almost everything because, uh,
it just seems like a bunch of laws about almost everything, is the Owner's
manual providing the rules for our relationship with Him; instructing how to be
holy for Him.
It's axiomatic.
Increasing
intimacy with God = increasing holiness in/through/for God.
Oswald Chambers provided
a simple maxim for increasing intimacy with God: "Keep right at the
Source." He explained, "If you find your life is not flowing
out as it should, you are to blame; something has obstructed the flow...Is
there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything that
hinders your belief in Him?...Keep at the Source, guard well your belief in
Jesus...and there will be a steady flow for other lives, no dryness and no
deadness."
Bluntly, hang out
with Him and He'll hang out with you.
That's how
holiness grows in our lives; and, again, the holier we are for Him, the more we
begin to talk, walk, and look like we're related to Him.
Increasing
holiness as a result of increasing intimacy with Him compels loving Him by
loving more like Him; or as Leviticus highlights a thread weaving throughout
the Bible and tying behavior to belief, "Love your neighbor as
yourself."
Surely, no matter
how good we are or become by increasing our intimacy with Him, perfect
obedience/holiness to all of those laws in Leviticus or anywhere else in the
Bible is impossible because we're so human.
Yes, we can
become more better than
worse; yet perfection is as unrealistic as even memorizing all of
the laws in Leviticus.
Ain't gonna
happen.
I may be wrong on
this but I think that's why God listed all of 'em so early on in the
Bible. He knew yet wanted us to figure out how impossible it is for us to
earn His esteem; or as someone said, "The works of my hands cannot fulfill
the law's demands." He knew yet wanted us to figure out our need for
Him to bridge the distance between perfect obedience/holiness and even our best
efforts to comply; and, of course, that's where He comes into our lives as
Savior: "Remember, if the first covenant had been able to reconcile
everyone to God, there would be no reason for the second covenant."
Simply and
summarily, Jesus does what we cannot do for ourselves. He as Savior
confirms our relationship with Him as Source, Starter, and Sovereign from
Genesis; making us for Himself: "Let us make people in our image."
Anyone who gets
that/Him prays and tries more than less and more
better than worse to obey as much as humanly possible with a
passion to praise and thank the only One capable of taking care of us now and
then.
That's why people
who get that/Him have always pleaded, "Come, Lord Jesus!"
That's why
officers along with everyone who get that/Him pray and try so hard to be holy;
not missing the forest for the trees in Leviticus.
Or to borrow and
modify a phrase, we do our best to be holy and leave the rest to Him.
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...to be continued...
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Blessings and Love!
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