- Written by Steven Amis
The book of Leviticus, and quite frankly the entire Levitical system, can be summed up in a three-word sentence: God demands perfection. He demands perfect sacrifices, a perfect priesthood, perfect worship, perfect purity, perfect justice and righteousness, perfect observance of the ceremonies and festivals, and perfect civility. The children of Israel were indeed to “…be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 11:44,45, 19:2). To be holy is to be set apart, and God set apart His people Israel from every other nation in the world. Why? Because it is through them that the Abrahamic Covenant will be fulfilled, all made possible through the person and work of Jesus Christ. As Paul wrote in Galatians 3:13-14, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’ – in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith”.
- Written by Steven Amis
As Christians, we live in a world full of unbelievers who view us in a myriad of unfavorable ways. Some would say that we are bizarre and fanatical, while others regard us as foolish, intolerant and offensive. This is no surprise, considering that Scripture teaches us that, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools…” (Romans 1:21-22). Elsewhere we read, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Corinthians 2:14). We too were once in the dark and were lost before Christ saved us, and many of us would have once responded to the proclaimed gospel in like manner. To lost Jews, our message of salvation is a stumbling block, while to Gentiles it is utter foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23). According to worldly wisdom, it is absolute folly to believe in a message about a crucified Jew who rose again from the dead three days later, and to not only sing songs of worship about bloodshed from the most humiliating kind of death imaginable, but to also actively remember that bloodshed time and time again in a tangible manner!
- Written by Steven Amis
Over the past few weeks, we have done the work of searching the Scriptures to see what the Spirit-inspired writers had to say in regards to the doctrine of election, and we have found many great truths. To recap what we covered: God has elected those whom He foreknew in eternity past, and He has predestined those whom He elected to receive the eternal blessing, all made possible through the finished work of Christ. Throughout history, God has always had His own special people on whom He lavished His lovingkindness and grace, while passing over all the others whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. Election is a doctrine that many dear saints have struggled with through the centuries, including many believers today.