Tag: tit2

Unlike all else!

Today’s reading was a 113-verse deep dive into clean vs. unclean. It explored animals, bugs, birds, fish, diet, clothing, childbearing, skin diseases, mildew, and quarantine. Details on what is clean and unclean, how to tell the difference, and what to do about it. One thing stood out to me: they can’t have bacon!

What is God doing? It is easy to see this and think God is all about dos and don’ts. But that’s not it! God is putting a difference between the clean and unclean. He is helping Israel understand their God, themselves, and their place in the world. He is calling out a people Holy to Himself, separating them from all the wickedness of the nations around them. This does not mean that Israel is better than anyone else. But it does mean their God is unlike all else!

What about us believers today?

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14–18, NLT)

What is this saying? It is not saying that we are better than unbelievers. It is not saying that we must separate completely and shun unbelievers. It is saying we are unlike unbelievers! It is saying our God is unlike them and unlike the god of this world! As God did to Israel in Leviticus 11-13, God is still calling out from the world and the wickedness around us, a people Holy to Himself. While these Levitical laws don’t apply today, why is God calling us to be Holy? Because Jesus was sacrificed on the cross for a special purpose!

He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. (Titus 2:14, NLT)

Believers, rejoice! We are His people! We have been separated from the works and power of darkness unto doing good deeds! How the world needs us among them, yet unlike them, to show them our God, who is unlike all else!

…You are…God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9, NLT)

Today’s reading: Leviticus 11-13 | Tomorrow’s reading: Leviticus 14-15

Dos and Dont’s

Have you ever read through the Old Testament? Long about Exodus and Leviticus, the Bible starts to get very detailed. This is where Bible reading can feel slow going. It’s stuff like, “If an ox gores a man or woman to death, it must be stoned, and the flesh cannot be eaten.” There are hundreds (it seems like) of these dos and don’ts! Seeing what God has for us in this detail can be challenging. In my chronological Bible reading plan, I have just entered this zone.

As I thought about the verses I was reading, civility came to mind. Civility is orderly behavior. Another thought that comes to mind is the consequences of actions. God is separating His people from the chaos of the wicked around them through the dos and don’ts of civility. God wants his people to be civilized! To help with civility, He introduces consequences of action. In other words, “If your ox is known to gore people and you fail to keep it under control, and it kills someone, the ox and the owner must both die.” The basics of civility are in the dos and don’ts and consequences of actions. How good of God to bring civility to chaos!

God wants to bring civility to the chaos in our lives! He has given us His Word. Obedience to His Word, even in the details of our lives, will make for a life different from the chaos of the wicked around us.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11–14, ESV)

Let us be civilized amid a chaotic, crooked, and perverse world! Why?

“Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.” (1 Peter 2:12, NLT)