Cross of Christ

(Lev. Chpt. 22) Verses 1 and 2 read:“And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,“Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the Children of Israel, and that they profane not My Holy Name in those things which they hallow unto Me: I am the LORD.”The structure is:1. That Holiness becomes God’s House forever is true in all periods of time. God demanded an unblemished Priest and an unblemished Sacrifice (Lev. 21:21; 22:20). Such was Christ as Priest and Sacrifice (Williams).2. In the Christian life, God must have first place, then will the nearest and dearest relatives have their right place.3. To beget souls for God, and nourish them in the Word of His Grace, the Believer must be equipped with full spiritual energy, and stand apart from everything that defiles.In this Chapter, the Laws regulating the conduct of the Priests in their holy ministrations are continued. As the last Chapter concluded with the permission to disqualify Priests to eat of the Sacrifices, this Chapter opens with conditions under which even the legally qualified Priests must not partake of the Offerings (Ellicott).As we shall see, there were many things that would disqualify a legally appointed Priest from carrying on his appointed duties, and because by the doing of those things, whatever they might have been, he would be declared by God as unclean; consequently, he would have to go through a particular ritual in order to once again become clean.Now, we have both the perfect Priest and the perfect Sacrifice in the Person of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. He having “offered Himself without spot to God” passed into the Heavens as our Great High Priest, where “He ever lives to make intercession for us.” The Epistle to the Hebrews dwells elaborately upon these two points.It throws into vivid contrast the Sacrifice and Priesthood of the Mosaic system and the Sacrifice and Priesthood of Christ. In Him we have Divine perfection, whether as the Victim or as the Priest. We have all that God could require, and all that man could need. His Precious Blood has put away all our sins, and His all-prevailing intercession ever maintains us in all the perfection of the place into which His Blood has introduced us. As Paul said, “We are complete in Him” (Col. 2:10) (Mackintosh).COMPLETE IN HIM?While we definitely are “complete in Him,” and because all perfection is in Him, which we gain by Faith, still, even though that is our “standing” in Christ, it is hardly our “state.”We are, in effect, so feeble and faltering within ourselves, so full of failure and infirmity, so prone to err and stumble in our onward way, that we could not stand for a moment were it not that “He ever liveth to make intercession for us” (Heb. 7:25-26).Now that which I have just stated is not admitted to by many in the modern Church. They have been so adversely affected by the Word of Faith doctrine, which I believe is Satan’s last effort before the Rapture, that to make statements such as I have just made, although completely true, are judged as a “bad confession.”Let me quickly state that a true confession is not a bad confession. The truth is, we are perfect and complete in Christ. That is the positive side of Christianity, and a glorious side it is; however, the negative side is, and there is definitely a negative side, our “state” is not up to our “standing.” And let the Reader full well understand that our “state” can never be brought up to our “standing” by merely confessing that our standing is perfect. It can only be brought to that place by Faith. And what do we mean by that?When we speak of “Faith,” as we’ve already stated any number of times, we are speaking of “Faith in the Cross of Christ,” and that exclusively.The Holy Spirit is given to us, Who works tirelessly, to bring us to the place that our “state equals our standing.”He doesn’t do that merely by confession, as good as proper confession is, but rather by our Faith placed exclusively in Christ, and His Finished Work.In this Twenty-second Chapter of Leviticus, we will study many things which would make a qualified Priest unable to carry out his duties. There is only one thing presently that can place the modern Preacher in such circumstances. That one thing is an incorrect object of Faith. The object must ever be the Cross of Christ, and if anything else is entertained, it disqualifies the man of God (I Cor. 1:17).The Second Verse closes with the statement, “I am the LORD,” which refers to the fact that it’s His Commandments that must be followed, and not those of men. Uncleanness in any form would “separate” these Priests from their sacred duties. Lack of Faith properly placed will presently do the same thing to modern Preachers.UNCLEANNESSVerse 3 reads: “Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, who goes unto the holy things, which the Children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from My Presence: I am the LORD.”The Lord is speaking to Moses concerning Priests, and qualified Priests at that, proven by the phrase, “Whosoever he be of all your seed (the seed of Aaron) among your generations.”“Who goes unto the holy things,” refers to the Priests approaching the Sacrifices in order to eat them, as proven in Verses 4, 6, and 12.The greater part of the Meat-Offerings, the Sin-Offerings, and the Trespass-Offerings, was given to the Priests, as food for themselves and their families. The Peace-Offerings were included in these as well. The Burnt-Offering alone was consumed totally upon the Altar.If a Priest was unclean in any manner, which uncleanness will be typified in coming Verses, he was not allowed to partake of these Sacrifices. If in fact he did so, ignoring the Commandments of the Lord, he would be “cut off from the Presence of God.”This means, if the Priest ventures to approach the Altar presumptuously to partake in a defiled state of the Holy Sacrifices, God Himself will banish him from His Presence as He did Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:1-3).CAUSES OF UNCLEANNESSVerses 4 through 9 read: “What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or has a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goes from him;“Or whosoever touches any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he has;“The soul which has touched any such shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.“And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food.“That which dies of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith; I am the LORD.“They shall therefore keep My Ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them.”The ceremonial matters against which the sons of Aaron were warned in the section before us, have their antitypes in the Christian economy. Mackintosh says: “Had they to be warned against unholy contact? So have we. Had they to be warned against unholy alliance? So have we. Had they to be warned against all manner of ceremonial uncleanness? So have we to be warned against ‘all filthiness of the flesh and spirit’ (I Cor., Chpt. 7). Were they shorn of many of their loftiest Priestly privileges by bodily blemish and imperfect natural growth? So are we by moral blemish and imperfect spiritual growth.”We should take a lesson from these things we are reading. Even though they pertain to a certain people, and a certain order, of long, long ago; still, they have, as already stated, great spiritual lessons for us.The Holy Spirit is given to us in order that He may root out all sin within our lives. However, there are two distinct aspects to the Christian experience, on which the Holy Spirit constantly works. Those two aspects are “self” and “sin.”SELF AND SINWhen Jesus died on the Cross, He died not only to save us from sin, but as well from self. The former is obvious, but the latter is not so obvious.We cover “self” with Scriptures, make it very religious, and thereby, we are deceived. In fact, most in the modern Church little know what to do with “self.” In other words, they address it in mostly wrong ways.First of all, every human being is a “self.” In the Church, we have heard about “killing self,” or “dying out to self.” Perhaps the intention is correct, but both statements show a lack of understanding, as it regards “self.”As stated, we are a “self,” and will always be such. But there are some things we need to know, and because they are so very, very important.CONQUERING SELFNo matter how hard we try, no matter what effort we may put forth, no matter how sincere we might be, if we try to conquer self by personal strength, which refers to bringing self into total and complete line with the Will of God, we will ingloriously fail. But yet, that’s basically what we try to do.“Self,” which refers to our human nature, due to the Fall, cannot by our own strength and ability, function as we ought to. It just simply cannot be done. I realize Christians are fond of saying, “I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). But most completely misunderstand the Passage.Paul was merely saying that if he had to, he could go hungry, or he could enjoy the plenty (Phil. 4:12). But many Christians love to stretch out the Passage, and make it mean anything. They are sadly mistaken! As well, just because we are saved and even Spirit-filled, doesn’t mean that self is in its proper place.In truth, most of the things attempted for the Lord are things which originated with “self,” which means the Holy Spirit did not give birth to these ideas, and which also means that it will do nothing for God, and because the Holy Spirit will not help such an effort. He will only help that to which He has given complete birth (Rom. 12:1-3). But regrettably, many in the Charismatic world have the mistaken idea that now that they are saved, they are operating some type of spiritual franchise, and they can do whatever it is they want to do. In other words, whatever they say becomes the Will of God. Nothing could be further from the truth.Paul said: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). There is only one way to be led by the Spirit, and we’ll get to that in a moment.THE DENIAL OF SELFJesus said: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Lk. 9:23).What did Jesus mean by a denial of self?First of all, He wasn’t speaking of asceticism, which is a denial of all things that are comfortable and pleasurable. Unfortunately, that’s what most Christians think He’s talking about. So they have it in their minds that the more one suffers, or lives some type of cold, Spartan, abbreviated lifestyle, the holier they must be. Again, nothing could be further from the truth.When Jesus spoke of one “denying himself,” He was referring to the Believer who must not trust self, must not depend on self, but entirely on Christ. Jesus also said: “For without Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). So if we are not to depend on self at all, then what are we to do?He also stated, even as we’ve already quoted, that we must “take up our cross daily, and follow Him.” What does that mean?First of all, let’s see what it doesn’t mean.To which we’ve already briefly alluded, it doesn’t mean suffering. But yet, that’s exactly what most Christians think it means, so they miss the point altogether.When Jesus spoke of taking up our Cross, and doing so on a daily basis, He was speaking of us trusting in the benefits of the Cross, and doing so everyday. The Crucifixion is something that happened about 2,000 years ago. It was a completed task, which means it will never have to be repeated, or amended in any fashion. From what He did, great benefits flowed, and in fact, flow unto this very hour, and will never cease (Heb. 13:20). It’s these benefits of which I speak. As Believers, we are to look to Christ and what He did for us at the Cross, and do so on a daily basis, which means that we ever make the Cross of Christ the object of our Faith, which is the only way that “self” can be properly approached.Concerning this, Jesus said: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it” (Lk. 9:24).“Saving our life” refers to us trying to do this thing by our own strength, which means that we are going to lose. “Losing our life for the sake of Christ,” refers to placing our life and living, i.e., “self,” entirely into Christ. When we do that, we “shall save it.”The Master also said: “At that day (after the Cross and upon the Advent of the Holy Spirit) you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (Jn. 14:20). We are in Christ, and Christ is in us. And how do we explain that?BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATHPaul said: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?” (Rom. 6:3).Paul is not speaking here of Water Baptism, not at all! He is speaking of the Crucifixion of Christ, and how that our Faith in Him literally placed us in Christ when He died on the Cross. Of course we were not there, but the Holy Spirit through Paul is not speaking of something physical, but rather spiritual. Let me say it again:The very moment that you as a believing sinner evidenced Faith in Christ, in the Mind of God, you were literally placed in Christ, as He hung on the Cross and died, literally baptized into His death. In fact, the word “baptized” is the strongest word that the Holy Spirit could use here. It means that we are completely in that into which we are baptized, and that into which we are baptized is completely in us. So is Christ!Furthermore, “We are buried with Him by baptism into death,” and likewise, raised up with Him “in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).This means that when Jesus died on the Cross, we died with Him, and in effect, “in Him.” We were buried with Him, and as well, raised with Him in newness of life, which refers to us being “born again” (Jn. 3:3, 8).This is the reason we must look to the Cross; this is where it all was done. This is the only way that the Believer can properly address “self.” Let us say it again:When Jesus died on the Cross, He died not only to save us from “sin,” but as well, from “self.” This means that every Believer has a twofold problem: “sin and self.” They are both handled at the Cross, and they are both handled only at the Cross. There is no other way that victory can be achieved or obtained.TO PROFANE THE HOLY THINGVerses 10 through 16 read: “There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the Priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.“But if the Priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he who is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.“If the Priests daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things.“But if the Priest’s daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father’s house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s meat: but there shall be no stranger eat thereof.“And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the Priest with the holy thing.“And they shall not profane the holy things of the Children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD;“Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them.”We have here minute directions as to what the Priests could and could not do. They were to guard carefully the Word of God, as it related to their services at the Tabernacle. They must not add to that Word, and they must not take from that Word. They must do their very best to carry out that which the Lord had demanded, and because to do otherwise would bring upon themselves dire consequences.Even though we are no longer under Law, in that Christ has satisfied and fulfilled all the demands of the Law, and did so by keeping it perfectly, and as well, addressed the broken Law by paying the price that it demanded. Still, we must understand that even though this is the Day of Grace, God’s Word means exactly what it says, and says exactly what it means. We must obey the Word, or else we will suffer the consequences, just as the Priests of old.And yet under Grace, which means we are no longer under Law (Rom. 6:14), even though the demands are few, those demands must be met. And exactly what are those demands?FAITHThe demand is Faith (Rom. 5:1-2; Gal. 5:6; Eph. 2:8-9). The Holy Spirit simply demands that we exhibit Faith in Christ and what Christ has done for us at the Cross.This morning (Oct. 14, 2002), I was on SonLife Radio, on the program hosted by Frances, taking questions from callers. One elderly lady called and asked this question: “I do not fully understand what you are talking about as it regards the Cross and Sanctification. I just believe that the Lord died for me and paid the price for all that I need.” I related to the dear Sister that she was exactly right in what she was believing. That’s really all that is required – that we trust Christ and what He did at the Cross for our Salvation, and continue to trust Him in this capacity for our Sanctification. Without going into a lot of detail, she had it right.The object of her Faith was the Cross of Christ, and that’s what is demanded of us, and that’s all that is demanded of us.However, if we attempt to live for God, and I speak now of the Sanctification process, by placing our Faith in something else other than the Cross, we will be violating the Word of the Lord, which means the Holy Spirit will not help us, without Whom we cannot survive, and failure will be the result.A PERSONAL EXPERIENCEI have preached the Cross all of my life, and have seen untold thousands brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. However, the preaching of the Cross, which I carried out, was limited to the Salvation of the sinner. As it regarded our everyday living for God, our Sanctification, I did not know or understand the part that the Cross played in this all-important process. Consequently, even as the far greater majority of the Church, I attempted to sanctify myself by my own doings, etc. The things I was doing were right in their own capacity. I speak of prayer, Bible study, witnessing to souls, etc. I was very diligent in this, and was blessed greatly by the Lord in these endeavors; however, despite my zeal, despite my sincerity, the Holy Spirit simply would not help me as it regarded my daily life and living, simply because my Faith was really not in Christ and what He had done for us at the Cross as it regards Sanctification, but rather in these particular works that I was carrying out. The things I was doing were correct, as far as those things were concerned. In fact, they were what any good Christian will do; however, once we begin to place our Faith and trust in those things, thinking that by the doing of them, it will bring us victory within our hearts and lives, we will be sadly disappointed.Now I realize that many will read this and will automatically quip, “Well, I knew that!” But the truth is, they don’t know that.I’ve talked to too many, read too many Messages, taken too many e-mails, and watched and observed too many Christians, which make me to know that the far greater majority of the Church doesn’t have the foggiest idea as to how to live a successful Christian life. Many may think they do! Others may claim they do! And while some precious few do know, the truth is, almost all don’t know.