So, our text is Leviticus 20, verses 7 through 8, and we are doing in many ways a more topical sermon, we could say, but Leviticus 20 is a good portion to read and think about and will draw in others as we go on. But Leviticus 20, verses 7 through 8, this is in the midst of God's commands to Israel, various commands that he has, and we get these, what we could call motive clauses, these ones where he presses home to Israel what they are to do. And so So, chapter 20, verse 7, Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep my statutes and do them. I am the Lord who sanctifies you. And so, as we start this out, I could ask the question I often ask in my 8th grade catechism class. Are you a saint? Are you a holy one? Now, I heard a couple weeks ago that we found out who the holiest person in the congregation was, if you were there. Obviously it wasn't me because I didn't see that. But as I asked my class that question, they usually squirm a little bit. Are they a saint? Are they a holy one? What does that mean? In English, holy can have a range of different meanings, and even in the church. Roman Catholic doctrine says that the requirements to be a saint are you need to demonstrate a heroic level of virtue and you need to perform at least one miracle. And also, it's only after you're dead. So you can't be a saint while you're alive. Now, I don't know if he still does it, but back when I was able to attend Dr. Godfrey, he was a little more liberal in handing out sainthood in his adult Sunday school class. I know that pretty much when any anniversary would come up, he would always have the quip, that woman is a saint. Now, I'm not saying there wasn't heroic virtue involved, but I don't know if there were that as many miracles. But as we think on this, are we holy or not? We are commanded to be holy. We'll see that. Here we have this command to be holy. It's carried on in the New Testament. What does that mean? Well, what I want to do tonight is to explore holiness in Leviticus because it really is in many ways the background for holiness language in the rest of the Bible. And so hopefully we can make a start. Holiness is a big topic that we could talk a lot about, but we can make a start thinking about it more. And as we think of it, those questions we raised and think about for ourselves, in many ways they're raised by our text for tonight. Who was holy in Israel? What does it mean to be commanded to be holy? Do they need to make themselves holy? How does that relate to God? How does God consecrate? And what does holiness mean? What is this word that we throw around a lot in religious circles? And so as we think on this, we have two issues that we'll focus on as we really think of Leviticus. I'll argue that there's actually two conceptions of holiness, two types of holiness that we find there. And through that, we'll then work more on our definition and then briefly, more briefly, we'll apply it to ourselves. And so I argue that there is this narrow and broad holiness in Leviticus. Now when you think of holiness, I hope that your first thoughts are of God. God is holy. He is holy, holy, holy, as the seraphim cried out in Isaiah's vision of God. And God's holiness is central to Leviticus. As we'll see, everything is related to that. The things that are holy is because they're related to God in His holiness. But we're not going to spend our time tonight thinking about what it means specifically that God is holy. Though we could state very briefly that His holiness isn't identified with any particular attribute. It's not His power or His justice or His moral perfection or His transcendence. Instead, it really relates to His whole divine nature. And thus, as we read the biblical text, we actually find out that Him coming in judgment is an expression of His holiness. Him coming in mercy is an expression of His holiness. Him as the Savior is this expression of holiness. And so Bavink, he states it this way, he says, Now in the first place, Yahweh is not called holy because of an immediate conspicuous attribute. He is rather called holy in a comprehensive sense in connection with every revelation that impresses humans with his deity. For tonight, our focus as we think of holiness, because we're thinking of it as it relates to us, is we're thinking of what does it mean that God's creation can have this label holy. People, places, objects, even time in Leviticus can be holy. We find this interesting, we find this complex in many ways. But I think one way to come at this and think about it is these two distinct ways that holiness is used. And so the first way is with regard to the tabernacle. And then we'll talk with regard to Israel. But with regard to the tabernacle, The tabernacle, if you've read in your devotions recently, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, you know the tabernacle is central to so much of what is there. About the building of it, about what goes on it, and as they set up and move it from Sinai in Numbers. And why is it central? Well, because it was the focus of the Exodus, because the Exodus was for God to be able to dwell with His people. Exodus 29, 46 says, And they shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. And so God commands Moses to build him a sanctuary, a holy place. God is holy, and so His dwelling place must be holy. And so that is what the tabernacle is. It is this sanctuary, this holy place. And then those who come near, who are going to serve in it, who minister to it, who take care of it, they also need to be holy. And so He consecrates to Himself a priesthood. Aaron and his sons. They are holy. They get anointed. They have special robes. And then everything that comes to his house has to be holy. The offerings, they are holy. And so they are brought, and we'll see, treated in a distinct way. And so much of Leviticus is describing this holiness, this holiness related to the tabernacle, This holiness that is shown in the sacrificial ceremonial system, dealing with all of the offerings, the washings, everything that related to the tabernacle. They were part of that proper care, proper way to approach God's dwelling there. And so the use of this language of holiness for tabernacle priest offering, this would have sounded familiar to an Israelite, as it would have sounded familiar, to their neighbors. This was the way most people talked about their houses of worship, their temples where they would go and worship their gods and bring their offerings. And so we see here God using the language that Israel was familiar with to teach them about how they would worship Him, teach them more about who He was. and what he needed, what he didn't need, but what he required as worship. What was unique in Israel, what was unique at Sinai, what was unique as God took Israel to himself, was that he used the language of holiness for the nation as a whole. This wasn't what anybody else did. Holy was for that house. Holy was for the priests there. Holy was for those offerings. But here God used it. He used it for the nation. Well, what does that mean? What is he trying to say by that? Well, we'll get more into our definitions, But I think it's as we think of this, we could distinguish these two uses as saying one is a more narrow, technical use, and one is a more broad, extended use. In that narrow use, we have the priests and the tabernacle and the offerings as holy. And if you were a regular Israelite, you were not holy. you were common. The average Israelite couldn't come to the altar. The average Israelite couldn't enter the tabernacle. Those things were reserved for the holy priests. And yet, God wanted to teach Israel that his calling on them, what was true of them, it was something similar to what was true of those priests, of what they did at the tabernacle, what they did, that is what He was creating with them in this broader sense. If you know the covenant at Sinai, you know that God comes to Israel and He says, Exodus 19.6, You will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Now they were a kingdom with priests. They had the Levites. I mean, they had the sons of Aaron. But in a sense, they were also this kingdom of priests. Now, an analogy that hopefully is helpful as you think about this is we can use family language in a more narrow technical sense. I can tell you I have two siblings. I have an older sister and a younger sister. And you all understand what that means. But then I can use family language in a broader, extended sense. I can say you are all my brothers and sisters in Christ. And we understand what is going on there. And so I would argue something similar at least is what God is using this holiness language. It had its narrow technical sense around the tabernacle, the priest, the offerings, everything there. but he wanted to use it to teach Israel more about how they were to view themselves. The sacrificial system, it teaches Israel many things, but he wanted to use it specifically in this way. That holiness, what that means there, it has this way that it applies also to you. And so that gets us then to our definition. So what is holiness? As we think about it, I think keeping what we've just said in mind, this narrow, more technical versus broad use, I think it helps us focus and say, well, okay, if it started in that more technical, narrow use with the tabernacle, the priests, and the offerings, what is it describing there? And so as we look at that, one author, he gives what I think is a very helpful definition. He says, what is holy or holiness, it denotes, it speaks about anything that belongs to God's realm or sphere of existence. It is something that belongs to God, his realm, his sphere of existence. It has some special association with him. And as you think of some other definitions of holiness, for example, like set apart, it's similar, but it's focused on whom. Set apart for whom? God. And you think of the tabernacle. It belonged to God's realm. It was His house. It was where He manifested His presence amongst Israel. And you think of the priests. They had this special association. They were the ones to minister to him, to bring his offerings, to care for his house. And the offerings, they belonged to God. And that's why an Israelite was in big trouble if they took what was God's. They were to be brought to his dwelling place and used there. But we should add one other part to this. As we think about these holy places, people, and objects, there's another aspect that's crucial as we think of it, and that is that anything that belongs to God's realm that's associated with Him in this special way, it requires special care. The tabernacle. You couldn't just waltz into the tabernacle. It had all of these rules that created all of these barriers that protected in many ways Israel. But if you were an Israelite, you could come to the courtyard only if you were ceremonially clean. But you couldn't go any further. You needed to be a priest to approach the altar. You needed to be a priest to go inside the tabernacle. And that was only after you ceremonially washed your hands and your feet. And we all know the Day of Atonement. That was the only day that the high priest alone could go into that innermost room, the Holy of Holies. And so you have all of these rules surrounding the tabernacle. And we could go into more on the priests. There were special robes they had to wear. There were special rules on whom they could marry. There were special rules on how they could mourn their dead. All of these things were setting them apart from Israel. And as we said, those offerings, those offerings that you brought, they must be treated in a special way. They must even be eaten in a certain time, in a certain way, if they were an offering that you, as the offerer, could eat of. And so, as we think of holiness, we need to see these two parts. And I would say it's a status, this belonging to God, and it's a standard. Something that belongs to God must be upheld in a certain way. And so, an easy other example is Moses at the burning bush. Moses gets there, and what does God do? He says, this ground is holy. That's its status. and what is the standard that you now need to treat it as holy you need to take your sandals off because this is holy ground now as we think of this it's important to emphasize that both of these are god-given god grants the status and god is the one to command the standard he is the one who makes something holy, consecrates it, and he says how it is to be treated. As an average Israelite, you can't just try to make yourself a priest. It didn't work that way. God had set apart Aaron and his sons. You can't set up your own tabernacle. God was the one who gave the command for it, who set it up and consecrated it. And so these two parts of this definition, status and standard, they help us to understand what it means when God commands holiness. When he says, be holy. And so for the priests, we can find something very similar you'll hear to our passage that we're looking at. But in Leviticus 21, verse 6, in his instructions to the priests, God says, They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the Lord's food offerings, the bread of their God. Therefore, they shall be holy. Now you hear that. They shall be holy. And you first ask, well, the priests are already holy. Aren't they? And I would say, yes, they are. These priests are holy. They belong to God's realm, which is why, as it says there, they can offer God's offerings. It's the status, we said, that was given by God to Aaron and his sons. So what does it mean that God is commanding them to be holy? What does that mean? They can't make themselves holy. As we said, God is the one who makes holy. And they're already holy. And so what I would say is in that command to be holy is really a command to act as you are. Act as the holy priest that you are. Do everything that is set out in that standard tied to your holiness. You are a holy priest, so treat yourself like one. Act like one. Be holy. And we in English can do something similar. It may not be very PC, but if my son's complaining about something, I can say, be a man. Now, what does that mean? He is a man. He's a young man. I'm not telling him to become a man, but I am saying act like a man. And so, to my daughter, I could say, be a lady. Act according to the standards of what a lady is. And so, the same thing is what we get in this command to the priests. Be, they shall be holy. They are supposed to act according to the standard of holiness for a priest. And as we think of this standard, one last thing we should mention is it wasn't a suggestion. When we read the book of Leviticus, we find that out rather quickly. An offering that wasn't treated as holy was invalidated. It no longer had effect. And those who profaned it, who made it common, they would be punished. Usually death, cutting off. A priest, through his actions, he could profane himself so that he was no longer holy. So that he was no longer qualified to serve at the tabernacle and be a priest. And God even says, if you mistreat my house, that if you break its rules, judgment will come out and eventually I will forsake my house. The tabernacle will no longer be holy. And so as we dwell and think on that, all of that is that background to this call for Israel. This call for Israel in this extended sense, we said, of holiness. That holiness centered at the tabernacle, God says, you know how I treat my house. You know how I treat my priests, those connected with me, how they're in my realm, what's required of them. You know of my offerings and all those things. so also you, Israel, in a likewise manner are mine. You are in my realm. You are associated with me. You are holy. And just as you know all those rules, those rules governing my dwelling place and my priests and my offerings there, so also I have a standard. If you are holy, if you are in my realm, there's a standard that you need to keep as a holy one. And it is the law. This law that I've given you at Sinai. And so, read with me again our text. I'll add a little more commentary in it this time. But Leviticus 20, verse 7, right? In the midst of this law, he says, Consecrate yourselves. And it's not make yourselves holy, but it is think of yourselves as holy. Treat yourselves as holy. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy. Act in a holy manner. For I am the Lord your God. Keep my statutes and do them. This is really an explanation of that holiness, that call. I am the Lord who sanctifies you. I would probably say sanctified you. I am the Lord who took you as mine. I am the Lord who brought you to myself. I am the Lord who made you holy. And as you read, if you read this section, especially chapters 18, 19, 20, and into 21 and 22, One thing you find as you're reading all these laws is God keeps hammering this relationship, usually with shorter forms, but sometimes with longer forms. As you read the commandment, it comes at the end. I am Yahweh. I am Yahweh your God. I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God who brought you to Myself. And Leviticus 20 verse 26 ends with kind of an echo of our phrase. It says, You shall be holy to me, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy. And I have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. And so we find here that God is holy. And He consecrates His people as holy, so that He could dwell with them. this people that he brought out of Egypt to be their God, and he commanded them what is required of this holy people, that whole of the law. So how did Israel do? You know the Old Testament well enough, I trust, to see and answer that question. Perhaps we could summarize it thinking again, we mentioned Isaiah's vision of God at the beginning. It seems in anybody's vision of God, they are always struck down. Isaiah, as he sees God and sees the holy, holy, holy, the seraphim calling round about, he says in Isaiah 6, verse 5, And I said, Woe is me, for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of glory. So, Pastor Gordon mentioned, he asked this morning, what's our biggest problem? And it is this. We are sinners. We cannot keep this standard that is there, God's law, this standard for our holiness. God may have consecrated Israel as holy, but they could not be holy, act as their holiness to God required. So the whole Old Testament makes it painfully clear that it will take a work of God for His holy people to be holy. For those brought into God's realm to keep God's standard as a holy people. And that is something that even already in Leviticus he begins to promise to his people. The end of Leviticus speaks of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. But at the end of the curses, Leviticus 26, verse 40, he says, but if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers and their treachery that they committed against me and also in walking contrary to me. And then it goes on, it says, and I will remember my covenant. This is really the wonder of the Gospel. That God will have His holy people. Even if it takes Him coming in the flesh. In the incarnation. What we celebrated this morning, His life, death, and resurrection. Paul uses much of the language from the sacrificial ceremonial system and holiness. In Ephesians 5, as he's speaking about what Christ has done, he says, Ephesians 5, 25-27, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle. or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. And so, as we bring this back, you dear people of God, you are saints. You are holy ones. You belong to God's realm. The New Testament emphasizes that, as it also pulls from all of that language we said, from that narrow definition of holiness, As it says, you're a temple being built up. You're a priesthood. You are even the offerings. You are holy. And it also calls us to be holy. 1 Peter 1, 14-16 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as He who called you is holy, you will also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. But as we think about this, we remember that this calling doesn't mean that we're to make ourselves holy. That we need to worry about, do we have enough holiness if we've profaned ourself? But instead, this is that gospel truth that all has been accomplished by Christ. And this is why I brought in question and answer one. Because in so many ways, what it says right at the beginning, I would say, is this definition we have of holiness. A holiness that has been accomplished because of Christ's life for us. What is your only comfort in life and to death? That I am not my own, but belong. That belonging. You belong to God's realm, but belong body and soul and life and death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. And that problem for Israel, that is what Christ has accomplished. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood and has delivered me from the tyranny of the devil. And He continues that work. We could jump to the end. And because I belong to Him, Christ by His Holy Spirit also assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. And as we think about that, we who, the Old, the New Testament, it uses that language of saints for the church throughout. Paul is always calling the church saints, those who hold fast to their confession. They are these saints. But as we think of that, we also know that we often don't feel like saints. We don't act like saints. And that's why we really need every week a reminder of who we are. A reminder of whose we are. That we are those who belong to Christ. That we are those who need to trust in His work. that we are those who are growing in our conformity to this holy status that we have been given, that we are more and more thinking about ourselves as holy, acting as those saints that we are. And this is where I think question and answer 114 that we read. It doesn't excuse our sin. But it reminds us that we are in this process. That we are in the midst of this work that Christ will complete. And we more and more learn to yearn for that day when it will be done. And so I'll close by reading it again. What can those converted to God keep these commandments perfectly? No, in this life, even the holiest, we could say even the one who most regards themselves. who treats themselves as holy have only a small beginning of disobedience. Nevertheless, with all seriousness of purpose, they do begin to live according to all, not some, of God's commandments. So that is the Spirit working in us. So, let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we rejoice in Your salvation to us, accomplished by Christ, and continuing to be applied through your Spirit. And so, as we go out, may we know that we are your saints. We are those who have been brought. We belong to you. We are in your realm. And that we are, through your Spirit, you are continuing that work so that more and more we see ourselves that way. And so may we think of that as we go out. May we regard ourselves as holy. May we treat ourselves in that way. And knowing that that is this blessed future that you have as you conform us to righteousness. And so we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.