Sunday Worship Service May 5, 2024

Prelude
Call to Worship Romans 14:8
Hymn JBC # 27 Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
The Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 3 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
Offering
Scripture Leviticus 19:1~8
Prayer
Sermon “Be holy”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 21 Worthy of worship
Doxology JBC # 672
Postlude

We continue to hear God's message today too through the Word of Scripture. Today, we will look at a passage from the Old Testament in the book of Leviticus (chapter 19, verses 1-8).
The book of “Leviticus”, which follows the book of “Exodus”, contains detailed descriptions of the various “offerings” (sacrifices of grain and animals) that the Israelites offered to God, as well as many other laws.
I believe that “Leviticus” is one of the books in the Bible that Christians DO NOT read with much enthusiasm.

When I first came across the book of “Leviticus” (when I first started attending church), which begins with detailed laws on the offering of sacrifices, I was very surprised.
“Are Christians the kind of people who do things like offering sacrifices?” I wondered so.

In conclusion, Christians do not offer sacrifices as described in Leviticus.
This is because in New Testament times, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became the one-time perfect offering and atoned for our sins.
Animal sacrifices had to be offered repeatedly, but Christ offered His own life for us as a one-time, perfect atonement for our sins.
The New Testament's Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 7, verse 27, states about it as follows..

Unlike the other high priests, he (*Jesus Christ) does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
The atonement for our sins is already complete because Jesus Christ offered Himself only once as the perfect sacrifice.
Still, the passages that refers to offering animals as sacrifices are so different from our modern sensibilities that we might wonder what such a book (Leviticus) has to do with our faith today.
During the time of Exodus, these laws were given to the Israelites through Moses during their wilderness journey to the Promised Land, led by Moses.
I imagine that the detailed regulations regarding offerings reminded the Israelites that “they were sinners”.
The Lord God saved them such sinners because of His love and mercy. The provision regarding the offering may have been a constant reminder of this to the Israelites.

I also believe that the many laws taught the Israelites that “sins committed must be paid for (compensated).”
In those days, offerings were to be repeated. This is because people sin all the time.
The constant giving of offerings would have reminded the Israelites that they always commit sins.
The book of Leviticus also tells us that “everyone sins”. Sacrifices and other rituals of worship were performed by those appointed as “priests”.

But even the priests were human and they also sinned exactly the same as the rest of the people.
Leviticus Ch.4 verse 3 says, "If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without defect as an atonement offering for the sin he has committed.”
It is a truth that runs through the entire Bible that no matter how great a person may be, whether a priest or otherwise, we all sin and are all sinners.
Therefore, the message of the Bible is that all people are sinners thus all people need God's forgiveness.

Today's passage is the beginning of the Chapter 19 of Leviticus, which contains a number of other laws, other than the offering of sacrifices.
One of the things that was communicated to the Israelites through Moses here is “Be holy,” which is also the title of today's message.

This commandment, “You be holy,” is found in several other places besides here.
God wanted the Israelites to “be holy,” and God wants us Christians today too to “be holy.
God gave the many laws to the Israelites as an expression of His longing (true desire) to make us aware of our sins and to make us holy by our accepting his atoning for our sins.
A human parent wishes for his or her children to “grow up (become) like this”. God is the parent of us who believe.
God the Parent has desired us, His children, to “be holy” (as a human parent desires his children to be).

　　That desire of God is evidence of how much He loves us.
So what kind of person is a holy person? Continuing
Followed by “be holy”, it’s written “because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”
God is saying to us, “I, the lord, your God, am holy, you too be holy.”
Does that make us holy, does it mean that we become God?
It is not so. God is God, and He is the only One. No human being can be God.
To take that which is not God as God is an idol. Today's verse 4 says, “Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.”

To try to make ourselves a god is also to make ourselves an idol.
I don't think “be holy” means that a human becomes a god, but rather that it is for us to rejoice first that our sins are forgiven and made a child of God, and to be made alive in God's love and mercy.
And isn’t it that “being holy” means being happy and grateful for being alive by God's love, and striving (trying) to live the way as God desires?
In the New Testament, in 1 Peter 1:13-16 says like this while quoting today's Leviticus passage.

1 Peter 1:13~16
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Human being cannot become God, but one can strive to be what God wants us to be. We who have been forgiven by God for our sins and forgiven to live as His children will strive to do so.
Today's verse 3 says, “Honor your father and your mother.” The same commandment is found in the Ten Commandments of Exodus.
When we hear the words, “Honor your father and mother,” we may be tempted to rebel. There are times when we may not be able to honor or respect our father and mother.
Don't we think that there are some outrageous parents too out there who don't deserve any respect? (I fear I myself may be the one of such terrible parents)
In the New Testament, there is the following passage that tells us to think of others as better than ourselves, not only our father and mother.

Philippians 2:3-4
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

　It is not easy to consider others as better than ourselves. It is no problem if that other person is clearly superior to us, but if not, what are we to do?
　Again, it is important for us to follow (or try to follow) Jesus' example. Jesus did not die on the cross in our place because we were good people.
　We were sinners, and yet Jesus died for us. That is God's love, the Bible tells us (Romans 5:6-8).
We who believe in the grace that God loves me, God forgives our sins, and Jesus died for us, are inspired to first try to have as much respect and compassion for others as possible.
And if we are willing to change ourselves first, we may be able to change others as they see us do so.

I believe we can trust that our relationships with others can be changed for the better if we try to make the effort ourselves first.
In today's verse 5 and following, it says that the meat of the offering must be eaten on the day of the offering and the day after, and that what remains until the third day must be burnt and thrown away.
This may have been so stipulated that believers will have faith and trust in God that “God's grace will be given to them just as they need at that day and time.”
Originally, it was meat dedicated to God. But people were allowed to eat it.
God probably wanted to prevent people from forgetting that it was originally an offering to God, and to prevent the desire in their hearts to “save it so that we can eat it days later again.”
　In the“ Passover” scene in Exodus, which we shared in worship message two weeks ago, it was stipulated that if one family could not eat the sacrificial lamb, they were to share it with the neighboring family.
　When the greed of “I want more” or “I want to accumulate a lot so that I don't have to worry about the future” goes too far, it will become the sin of covetousness (greed), and above all, it causes us to lose our faith and trust in God.
　God will always provide what is needed. I can say that even through my own life of faith, God's protection and grace have always been given to me according to the need of the moment.
　God's grace is sufficient for the day and for that each moment. We hope to learn daily through listening and obeying the teachings of the Bible that God will supply our needs with the best of what He has to offer.