SERMON SPOTLIGHT * 3/19/23
God’s perfect holiness. Our radical sinfulness. CHRIST’S MIGHTY SACRIFICE. Grace always abounding. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.
TEXT: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
TITLE: The Wisdom and Power of God: A Study in Leviticus
PREACHER: Guest Pastor, Lynn Baird
BIG IDEA: The violent and catastrophic consequences of sin against a holy God, requires a violent and catastrophic response… the cross!
POINTS:
1. The Holiness of God
2. The Pervasiveness of Sin
3. The Need for Sacrifice - The Cost of Sin
SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Though I'm not going to be preaching on this passage [1 Corinthians 1:18-25] directly, the message here is important to what I want to say… The preaching of the cross causes religious people to stumble and worldly people to consider it foolishness.”
"This is going to be a different sort of expositional message. I'm not going to go through a particular passage of scripture but will be doing an overview of an entire book. The book of Leviticus.”
“From the beginning, God has used bloody, brutal sacrifices to cover or atone for sin. From the animal skins for Adam and Eve in the garden, to the lamb that replaced Isaac, to the sacrificial system under the law and priests. The ultimate culmination of this being Christ on the cross.”
“When we approach Leviticus, we want to ask two questions: Who is God? and What does that mean for us? One of the key ways to understand God is to see how he tells us to relate to him. This is what Leviticus is all about: how do you relate to a holy God?”
“So often we tend to think of holiness as purity or sinlessness, but the root of the word actually means to be separate. Completely other. Separate from them. In this case, God is so profoundly ‘other’ or ‘separate’ that God must communicate to the Israelites how he is to be approached. They cannot come near him, except in the way designed by God himself. If they don't they die.… His holy nature demands you only approach him in the way HE prescribes.”
“The underlying nature of sin is rebellion. Wanting to do things OUR way. The fact you are a sinner is a fact that is never going to change. But because of that, we better recognize who God is and how he wants to be approached.”
“The story of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus chapter 10 may seem harsh and unjust to us. Death for simply putting the wrong kind of incense or “fire” on the altar? … we should not be surprised by God's judgment for sin, we should be surprised that any of us are still alive and haven't been judged already!”
“Left to ourselves we would simply make up a god of our own choosing, that we could relate to, that we like.”
“God's holiness is to affect how we live in every day life - Leviticus 19:2”
“The effect of sin is radical; everything is tainted by sin. We are not as bad as we could be, perhaps, but every part of us is affected. …Sin is the slightest act of defiance against God’s cosmic authority.”
“Here's the reality, though; the goal is not to somehow become sinless in order to be in God's presence. That is impossible. The goal is to come to God in the way he prescribes. … the doctrine of sin is humbling, and humility is the only appropriate response to it.”
“In one day, God brought the sin of the world and his anger and wrath against sin and rebellion and poured it out completely, and totally on one human being: his Son. His Isaac. His Passover lamb.”
“The same God who's zeal against sin consumed Nadab and Abihu was the one who flamed in fury against his own Son when our sin was placed upon him. The same God who required countless sacrifices, done exactly as he said, to cover the sin of a constantly rebellious people is the same God who required the death of his son for our rebellion. This was the one and only time God punished an innocent man. If you are appalled by the cost of pride and sin in the Old Testament, you should be absolutely aghast at the price. God was willing to pay, the extent to which he was willing to go, to deal with sin once, and for all.”
“The cross was God's design for the offering of the perfect sacrifice that could take away sin. There was no other way of doing it.”
“… we aren't afraid to talk about sin or the cross. We enthusiastically embrace the reality of our sin, knowing that the grace of God in Christ abounds all the more in the face of our sin. This is what gives us the power to fight against sin!”
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
The Book of Leviticus
Hebrews 10:9
Isaiah 63:5
John 14:6
Romans 5:20
Hebrews 13:15
APPLICATION:
Don't ever let your pride to keep you from doing it God's way!
Don't ever be dragged down or overwhelmed by your sin or the cross. Be amazed by Grace!
Don't ever try to minimize sin or its consequences. Be amazed by Grace!