What does a restored life look like in the practice?
The restored lives of the people of God demonstrate their love for God and neighbor in…
I. The primacy and purity of biblical worship: Vertically aligned with God and his word (loving God) Lev. 17, 19.
a. Value of life: The sanctuary and sacrifice – expiation Lev. 17:1-16.
b. Value of authority: Pledging our allegiance to God and his word, obeying parents, etc. (ten commandments) – sanctification Lev. 19:1-8.
II. The moral integrity of their human relationships: Horizontally committed to each other’s holiness (loving neighbor as self) Lev. 18, 19.
a. Sexual integrity Lev. 18: prohibited practices – incest vs.6-18, violence v.19, adultery v.20, fertility cults and child sacrifice v.21, homosexuality v.22, bestiality v.23.
b. Social integrity and righteous living: loving neighbor 19:9-37.
III. Their accountability for the consequences of their actions before God and each other Lev. 20.
A restored life does not compromise with sin.
Instead, it commits to worshiping God on his terms,
living with moral, sexual, and social integrity,
and taking sin seriously.
1. Since Christ is the ultimate sacrifice (Heb. 10:10), he has opened a new way to approach God and have fellowship with him not based on how we feel but on what he has revealed in his word (John 14:24).
2. In a world of moral relativism and compromises, God calls his people to live lives of moral, sexual and social integrity. Remember you are in the world but not of it.
3. Sin still has consequences. If we disregard God’s instruction and do what our sinful desires want, we will suffer consequences and miss the wholeness of life God wants for us. Do not compromise!
