Monday, February 3, 2014

Leviticus 20 - Consequences of Unholy Conduct

This chapter makes reference to conduct with which most are unfamiliar such as giving children to Molech and beastiality.  I certainly hope it is. Their are few sins more shameful than to take the life of a child, but that was the ritual worship of Molech to make a burnt offering of your children to this pagan God. God detests such acts and called the the person's death.  Beastiality, having sex with animals also had death as its consequence. I think we coud agree that these acts are truly unholy. 

However in this passage, there acts which are not uncommon in our culture such as cursing one's parents and adultery with a married person that hardly get attention in social circles much less legal consequences today. 

God spends a lot of time outlining unholy sexual conduct because I think He recognizes that the drive is strong and the lure of sexual temptation can defile us. Sexual union is to be kept holy and protected. Engaging in sexual misconduct outside of marriage, inside the family, with the same sex or with beasts is considered detestable. We are called to be Holy because we belong to God and He makes us Holy (Lev. 29:7).  

Sexual purity is hardly embraces in today's culture. Young girls dress provocatively, boys use girls for their pleasure without regard for marriage. Those who do marry frequently end in divorce because marriage is not held sacred and commitments are easily broken. Children are discarded prior to birth to allow the parents to pursue their self centered pleasure. Parents are not honored and the culture is quickly degraded. But God said that He has set His people apart from the nations so that they would shine before the world as models to emulate. We belong to God and not to ourselves. He has redeemed us and adopted us as His children. We need to guard ourselves against such unholy conduct. 

All if us have sinned and have engaged in unholy conduct and thinking. Our only hope for peace with God is not wrapped up in our righting ourselves but in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It is because His sacrifice on our behalf that we have hope. 

There is consequences for sin, yet Jesus paid for my sin and for yours so that you might have eternal security and peace with God. We must first agree with God and call our unholiness as He does. Call it sin - confess it to God. Repent of it and ask God to forgive your sin. The Bible tells us that He is faithful to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Perhaps you are reading this thinking "I haven't done anything that bad". I haven't broken my marriage vows and I haven't engaged in lewd behavior. This is great news, but there has been sin in your life and we have all acted selfishly and have disregarded God and our fellow man. It is hard for "good" people to see their need of a Savior. Like the Pharisees, following the rules does not make you Holy. Gods standard is so much higher than what we set for ourselves. Until we realize we cannot attain holiness on our own we remain utterly lost. 

God longs for his people to live rightly and he has made provision for the sins we have committed.  Jesus Christ, the only sinless one who could stand in our place and pay the penalty for sin. We can embrace that sacrifice and live or reject it and die. Choose life. 

May God richly bless you as you seek Him and as you serve Him. 

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