I understand that reading through Leviticus can be a begrudging task, because at first glance it is a book filled with a bunch of ceremonial laws that are no longer observed in our post-resurrection era. However, about a month ago I decided I would read through Leviticus, not just to say I did it, but I began reading the book with these questions in mind: What does the book teach me about God? How does the specific passages point to Christ? What does the book teach about man? Are there any principles I can apply from this book to my life?

Reading the book with these questions in view has proved to be very meaningful. I had gotten away from the book for some study on some other passages, but have returned and would like to share some thoughts from my reading today.

If you have ever read Leviticus 13, you know it is filled with an exhaustive list of laws regarding leprosy. I would like to point out a few truths from this chapter as a whole and then apply it to daily life and present a New Testament connection that perhaps you have never thought to link with this passage.

1. Leprosy was a skin disease that practically ate away at a person’s flesh.
2. There were several criteria listed in Leviticus to determine if someone had leprosy or not.
3. It was the priests job to pronounce a person clean or unclean based on the certain criteria listed in the law of God.

Practical Application

While the chapter in view is much more exhaustive than the three principles I have listed, these statements run throughout the entire chapter. Let us seek to apply these principles practically to our post-resurrection era. The priests were to discern a particular situation based on a certain set of criterion located in God’s Word. As Christians we too are called to exercise discernment. Based on what God’s word clearly teaches we are to discern sound doctrine and righteous living from false doctrine and unrighteous or perhaps “unclean” living. False doctrine and sinful living are both “unclean” and perhaps a spiritual leprosy eating away at the soul.

So this is a plea to exercise discernment. Don’t miss apply Matthew 7:1 by taking it out of context. Actually, that passage clearly teaches righteous judgment and sound biblical discernment. We are to examine what we hear from peoples lips and what we see in peoples lives based on the criteria that is clearly set forth in God’s Word, just like the priests were to do when discerning a man or woman be clean or unclean.

New Testament Typology

Now let us make a New Testament connection. I bet you never saw Leviticus 13 as a typological reference to church discipline. I believe it is all to clear of a connection to overlook. In Leviticus, the priests were to do two things: Examine the individual based on biblical criterion, and second, pronounce them clean or unclean based on the priests judgment. In this text and context, the priest was given the authority to make such a decision. Turn in your bibles to 1 Corinthians 5. This begins with a man who is inside the church who is sexually immoral based on biblical criterion (5:1). The apostle Paul had pronounced a judgment based on the biblical criterion (5:3). The church is given authority and is commanded to get rid of the “unclean” immoral person from the midst of the church (5:2,13), just as a leprous individual would be removed from the midst of the people and exiled to the outer gates.

So Leviticus 13 can be seen as a precursor to church discipline. As a body of believers we must exercise spiritual and biblical discernment and examine members of the church and pronounce a judgment upon the individual in question, and then purge the person from the midst of the church in order to strive for the purity of the church.

Friends, Church discipline, discernment, and integrity in church membership are not just mere themes held by a bunch of overly dogmatic five-point Calvinist, they are themes that are present throughout the entirety of scripture, and just like the priests of Leviticus, Christian today are commanded to exercise discerment and proper church discipline.

Have you ever heard of Arianism? Well, even if you do, you may not know this. I didn’t. Arianism resulted in response to a heresy known as Sabellianism that denied the doctrine of the Trinity. There is a new Sabellianism called Modalism that is infecting different streams of pentacostal churches. Arianism formed as a response to Sabellianism. The Bishop of Alexandria was not a Sabellian. The Bishop of Alexandria affirmed the biblical doctrine of the trinity, but Arius didn’t like saying that The Father and the Son were of the same substance, so Arius rejected that notion and began teaching that Jesus was a created being and not the same essence of God. He rejected the divinity of Christ. But certainly these two men could put their differences aside to address the heresy of Sabellianism. After all, Arius believe Jesus to be more than just human, but not quite God. It is only a slight difference right? Can’t these two men just put aside their slight differences for the sake of unity?

If you guessed yes, then you are W-R-O-N-G. A false teaching of the person of Christ is no slight difference. The full divinity and the full humanity of Christ is essential to the biblical doctrine of the atonement. Getting that wrong leads to getting the gospel wrong.

I write this post to say: When there is a false teaching in the church, it must be confronted. my dear friend Rhett Kelley has had to do this even in the midst of a Sunday School. We cannot dilute the truth with error. We must fight for the purity of the gospel. Will you fight for the truth or will you forsake the truth for the sake of ecuminical unity?

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” ~Romans 15:4

Oh how wonderful are the ancient Scriptures! What a blessed gift from the Sovereign Lord that we worship! Friend, do you realize the blessedness of the Scriptures? For they certain profit much for our lives today!

1. They give us instruction. For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction. The Scriptures teach us sound doctrine and theology. The scriptures teach us about the character of God, the person and work of Christ, the scriptures teach us how to be saved, they teach us about the sinful nature of humanity. The scriptures teach us how to live in right relationship to God and others. May we constantly search the scriptures, for they teach us so many things.
2. They give us encouragement. through the encouragement of the Scriptures. There are many times that as Christians we are downtrodden and discouraged, but the ancient scriptures give us encouragement. In this specific context of Romans 15, it is talking about following the example of Christ and who was reproached by others. As Christians we are to take upon such reproaches upon our self. Such lifestyle is bound to be uneasy and discouraging at times, but what a blessed assurance that we can look to the life of Christ in the Holy Writ and be encouraged!
3. They give us hope. through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Believer, do not be faint-hearted! Continue to look to the Scriptures! Christ died because of the reproach of those who had killed him. But where is the blessed Savior now? Is he still in the grave? No, the blessed Christ has defeated death, he has raised and has ascended to be with the Father! Believer, so to, we have hope that one day the reproaches that fall upon us will one day be over and we, as well, will be raised to be with the Lord for ever. Do not be faint-hearted believer, but hope in the day that is to come where we will be with the Lord!

I have begun a new blog entitled Supplications and Prayers. At this blog I will write prayers of conviction, of praise, of thanksgiving, of supplication, and of all kinds of different things as I meditate on the word of God. Today I was meditating on Matthew 6, the Holy Spirit brought conviction upon my heart of my faithlessness. I believe God is Sovereign and that he is able to provide for my knees, but how seldom to I trust that precious reality in my own heart. I have been so faithless these past few weeks. I have been job hunting, but I have failed to trust in my Sovereign God with the results. I have sought forgiveness from my heavenly Father and I seek forgiveness from my fellow Christians as well. May what we believe with our minds sink into the depths of our heart and our soul and change our lives for the glory of God!

I was browsing emails that I get from various ministries and publications and I came across this quote that I believe is religious hogwash:

If you are trying to reach seekers, people who don’t know Jesus and have had little acquaintance with church culture, you don’t want them to feel lost and confused when they worship with you.

OK, let me analyze this. If you are trying to reach seekers….good luck. “None is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” Romans 3:10-11. If you are trying to reach seekers, you will be trying for a very loooong time….because they do not exist. They may be seekers of peace, love, joy, happiness, and comfort, but they are not seekers of God.

People who don’t know Jesus…..you don’t want them to feel lost and confused when they worship with you. OK, wow. where do I begin. First, people who don’t know Jesus…um…yes, they should feel lost when they enter the church building. Unregenerate sinners should feel out of place in a group of people who are supposedly regenerate. Now, I am not saying we make them feel that way in a hostile manner, but if God is being glorified in the music, the prayers, and the preaching…lost people should feel lost! Go figure!

When they worship with you. What! Are you kidding me…People who don’t know Jesus worshipping with you. Here is a newsflash….People who don’t know Jesus don’t worship Jesus! They obviously aren’t worshipping with you. Again, if God is being worshipped, lost people should automatically feel out of place and uncomfortable.

Church, let’s stop trying to make the gospel user-friendly and tolerable to lost people. The gospel will not be tolerable to lost people., but offensive. Let us just preach the whole counsel of God and let God work in a sinner’s heart. Guess what…our watered down message won’t bring anyone to salvation. Only the work of God by His Spirit through His Word will change lives and bring sinners humbly to the cross!

Calvinism has been of great debate among the Southern Baptist Convention in recent years. Lifeway has done a study, accurate or not, on the influence of Calvinism and the SBC. Evangelical leaders have boldly made a stance on either side of the issue. Many reformed students are getting their education at Southern and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminaries. Articles have been written and responded to on this particular issue. Reformed baptist bloggers have multiplied. To say that Calvinism is not an issue within the Southern Baptist Convention is to be ignorant of reality. For this reason, Founder’s Ministries and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is hosting a conference on November 26-28, 2007 at Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina called: Building Bridges: Southern Baptists and Calvinism. This sounds like an incredible conference to plan to attend. You can read more about it at the founders blog here.

In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ~Ephesians 1:4d-5

In this passage there are several things that can be noted. First, God predestines people to be children of God. He does not just predestine the means by which people become sons of God, but he predestines the people. (He predestined us). Second, he also predestines the means and it is through Jesus Christ. People will not be saved apart from being found in Christ, by repenting from sin and trusting in the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross. Third, predestining who is saved and the means of salvation is the purpose of God’s will. Fourth, God receives praise because of his glorious grace in predestining souls for salvation who otherwise, like the rest of mankind, would be destined for hell. Fifth, God has blessed us in Christ in so many ways.

But there is one thing I would like to observe. The first two words before verse 5 begins…In love. God’s electing grace and predestinating grace is a loving thing, not a hateful thing. All of the world stands totally incapable of coming to Christ because they are in bondage to their sinful nature. It is a loving thing that God decided before the foundation of the world to save anybody. Most people want to say that reformed theology is an attack on the love of God. Clearly it is opposing views that misrepresent God’s love, because the love of God is extremely evident in God’s predestinating grace.

Friend, are you a believer? Has God saved you? If so, it is because he set his love upon you before the foundation of the world and chose to save you even though you were completely undeserving of his love, grace, and mercy. Take time today to pray to God and thank him for His love. Truly today we can say with the apostle John, “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

This world is filled with cheap imitations of products. They look authentic, but they are made by a different company, and they cost a great deal less than the real thing. If you are buying a product, its not really that big of a deal. The real thing might last longer or taste better, but it will not have a profound effect on your future. However, cheap imitations to biblical Christianity are detrimental to spiritual health. Today’s Christianity calls us to accept everything under the name of Christ. Again, this age calls others to be “tolerant” of people of other opinions who preach in the name of Christ. Is this the mentality prescribed in God’s Word? John Macarthur addresses this issue in his book, “Fool’s Gold.”

“Do not despise prophesies, but test everything; hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22.

These two verses are actually one complete thought. We are exhorted not to despise prophesies. Prophesy is not limited to some prediction of the future, but a proper understanding of prophesy is any teaching that claims divine authority. We as Christians, are not to hate authoritative teaching. Some church members seem not to care about it all, which is alarming to me. Nonetheless, although we are exhorted to this, we are also expected to examine every teaching we hear. We are to test everything we hear or read according to the standard of God’s authoritative word. In order for that to happen, we must know what the word says. What does that mean…READ THE BOOK!! OK, sorry, so many people just don’t read their bibles and it is aggravating. If we are going to discern truth from error, as John MacArthur states in his book “Fool’s Gold”, we are going to need to know the truth so we can identify the error. Upon critically examining the things we hear and read, we are given two applications.

1) Cling to what is good. In the context, this is talking about good teaching. Not crafty speeches but teaching that is inherently good or right or pure. Not some cool new philosophy that sounds really awesome, but something that possesses and intrinsic goodness, and that alone is the Word of God. If a teaching passes through the standard of Scripture…hold fast to it. Love it. Live by it.

2) On the other hand we are told to abstain from what is evil. Certain we are exhorted in other places to abstain from evil actions, but in context this refers to evil, or false teaching. Church, we are not called to be tolerant of unbiblical or even anti-biblical teaching, but to shun it. Because of a lack of doctrinal understanding among most church members, today’s Christians are willing to embrace any type of false teaching on TV or in the bookstore, and don’t even know the difference between Creflo Dollar and R.C. Sproul.

As men of God called by God, we must teach the people of God the truth, and train them to know the truth and to discern the truth from error so that they may wholeheartedly embrace the life-giving truth of God’s word and reject and shun any and all perversions of that blessed truth!

This is not a post about eschatology. No, I don’t think the rapture is going to happen tommorow, and I don’t think you should get your britches in a wad over when it is going to occur. I don’t even think that newspaper is an authoritative source on end times prophesy either. So if you saw the title and thought I was writing a post on dispensational eschatology, go get a hobby.

Today is the last day of my residence in South, Georgia. I am going to Atlanta this afternoon, and then to Louisville, KY tomorrow morning. These last days have been humbling, revealing, emotional, and all kinds of things. I look back on the last five years of Brewton Parker College, and I am amazed to see how God has developed me and placed certain people in my life. When I came to Brewton Parker, I don’t even know if I knew how to spell doctrine, but now the truths of God’s Word are like a fire in my bones.

Although it has only been two years, it feels much longer. I have no doubt that God brought me to FBC Metter when he did. God is doing some great things in that church, and I am looking forward to hearing how God moves in that wonderful congregation. Over the last few days, the church has blessed my soul in numerous ways. All of them have shown their love for me, and I am so humbled and so amazed. I am going to Louisville with a new suit, a new recliner, and a bit of cash thanks to the church and its people. I have been privileged to meet a man who has had more influence on my life than any of my professors. A man who has helped me to see that the doctrines that I believe shape the way I live my life, affect my worship, fuel my evangelism, cause me to worship, and drive me to my knees in prayer. Fred, thank you for being that influence. Thank you for allowing God to shine through your life to mine. I can’t be any more grateful. You have taught me more than any systematic theology book can teach me. I feel like there is so much more left for me to learn from you, but I must go. Keep me in your prayers, and I will do the same for all of you at FBC Metter.

I would have never known that I would build the friendships with the people of God that I did in Metter, Ga. About a year ago, God brought Rhett Kelley to our church; A man who seemed to just randomly show up wanting to learn and grow with some reformed folks. Rhett, I have no doubt God brought you to that church. I have no doubt God brought us together as friends, and much more, as family. You and your family are dear to my heart, and I wish the best for you and your children. Cordele already impresses me. When you are trying to present the truth, and you confront some crazy things…keep the glory of God as your focus! Stay strong my brother! My prayers are with you in your ministry endeavors at FBC Metter. Fan the flames brother! Keep in touch!

Well, this is the last words from South, Georgia. Are you expecting something profound? Tough, I don’t do that. God chose the foolish things of the world remember? Anyway, blessings to all, and when the blogging continues my headquarters will be in Louisville, KY. May the reformation blaze through our nation and throughout the world!

Around my Calvinist friends, conversations alway seem to go back to Calvinism. Many non-Calvinists wonder why we always take things back to Calvinism. Why the obsession? Well, I would like to respond to that. Am I obsessed with those doctrines? Yes, because I am obsessed with the Word of God. I love God’s Word and the truth that it contains. Also, I think that most people think that Calvinism, or Reformed Theology is just five points listed in a cool acronym of a silly flower called TULIP. While it does include this, and that is what most discussions of reformed theology involve, reformed theology is much more than a simple five points. Reformed theology is an entire worldview. Everything that comes into my mind is filtered through my convictions of reformed theology. Reformed theology consists of a strict biblical worldview. Why the obsession? Because it is the lense by which I view the world. It impacts my worship, it impacts what I do each day, it reforms my evangelism, and all sorts of things. Reformed Theology is a big deal.