And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying… In 2 Timothy 4:16, Paul tells us that “all Scripture is breathed out by God.” Every word was inspired by the Holy Spirit, as He carried God’s prophets along (2 Peter 1:21). The Scriptures were physically written by men, even maintaining the individuality of each author, but they were breathed out by God. The Greek is one word: θεόπνευστος, which is a compound word literally meaning God-breathed. That is why we call the Bible God’s Word. As we open these pages, the breath of God is striking our ears, just as it struck Moses’ ears so long ago. May the Spirit also give us ears to hear what He is saying.

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We continue to make our way through the second half of Leviticus. Even though Leviticus has a chiastic structure, it can most simply divide into two parts. The first part answers the question: How can God’s people draw near to Him? The second part answers: How should God’s people live once He has made that approach possible? Of course, we see the same pattern in the New Testament letters. The first half of Ephesians gives us the good news of what God has done for us in Christ. The second half then explains how we are to live as those who have been saved by Christ.

As we have noted, many theologians call this the Holiness Code because holiness dominates this half of Leviticus. Because holiness is so pervasive, many assume that it is the primary theme of the whole book, but communion with God the overarching theme to which holiness is essential. God’s people, after all, cannot dwell in His presence without being holy.

Our chapter is the central piece of chapters 18-20. Chapter 18 dealt with the pagan sexual practices of the Canaanites and Egyptians, forbidding Israel from imitating them. Chapter 20 will return to some of those same sins, reinforcing God’s warnings with penalties. Chapter 19 stands between them as a beautiful positive counterpart. Here, God not only tells His people what not to do but shows them what to do, what holiness looks like in daily life. Indeed, Allen Ross calls Leviticus 19 “a rapid panoramic tour” of what it means to be holy. So, we will make that rapid panoramic tour this morning in three broad movements. Verses 1-2 give us the call to holiness. Verses 3-37 display practical holiness for us; holiness applied to every area of life: family, work, worship, justice, and compassion. Finally, we will pull back and consider how the New Testament takes up the same theme, showing that the goal of holiness is our conformity to the image of Christ.

THE CALL TO HOLINESS // VERSES 1-2

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.’

Once again, as we saw last week, the passage begins with covenantal language: I am Yahweh your God. God identifies Himself as their God, their covenantal Lord. Indeed, this refrain is repeated sixteen times in this chapter, reminding us that everything in this chapter flows from who God is and from His relationship with His people. Again, Exodus 20 is intentionally being echoed.

This is crucial because even here in the Old Testament, God is not issuing these commandments so that His people could belong to Him. Instead, He is saying, “You already belong to Me. I am already your God. Therefore, live this way.”

Even here, long before the cross, the pattern is the same: redemption before obedience. God has never commanded His people to obey in order to gain a relationship with Him; instead, they obey because they already have one.

We should also note that the call to holiness is comprehensive. God speaks to all the people, not just the priests or prophets. And this holiness touches every part of life: what they do, what they say, what they think. In fact, each law in this chapter is rooted in at least one of the Ten Commandments, making it a kind of case law commentary on how the Ten Commandments function in daily life. Gordon Wenham quotes another commentator who captures this beautifully:

Holiness is thus not so much an abstract or a mystic idea, as a regulative principle in the everyday lives of men and women… Holiness is thus attained not by flight from the world, nor by monk-like renunciation of human relationships or family or station, but by the spirit in which we fulfill the obligations of life in its simplest and commonest: details in this way—by doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God—is everyday life transfigured.

That is exactly what Leviticus 19 gives us: practical holiness, not abstract.

PRACTICAL HOLINESS // VERSES 3-37

Verses 3-37 give us a flood of commands, but we can group them into four smaller sections.

Holiness in Worship

The first one, verses 3-8, deals with holiness in worship. Verse 3 kicks everything off:

Every one of you shall revere his father and mother, and you shall keep my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.

Now, why are those two commands placed together?

The Fifth Commandment is the first that governs our relationships with other people, which is fitting because our parents are the first people we ever have a relationship with. They are also among the few people whom we do not choose for ourselves; we are placed together by the sovereignty of God.

So, honoring our parents becomes paradigmatic for how we relate to everyone else. Augustine once said that a person who shows no honor to his parents is capable of any sin. And that is not an exaggeration. If you do not learn honor in home, you will not show it anywhere else.

The second half of the verse deals with the Fourth Commandment, which is repeated many times throughout Scripture. It is one of the simplest for Israel to obey and one of the most revealing. You see, the Sabbath was a weekly day of rest. This command displayed a fundamental difference between Yahweh and Pharaoh, their former lord. Pharaoh demanded endless work; Yahweh commanded rest. The Sabbath was a gift, a sign that Israel was free.

And it became a kind of spiritual litmus test. If the Israelites would not devote one day in seven to rest and worship, how likely was it that they would obey the rest of God’s laws? The Sabbath measured the heart’s willingness to trust and obey God.

That is why verse 3 joins these two commands together with “and.” Together they summarize the two great commandments, love God and love others. The Sabbath expresses love for God; honoring parents expresses love for neighbor. They are foundations for holiness.

Verses 4-8 give two commands regarding worship. Verse 4 ties to the Second Commandment. Verses 5-8 give further instructions on the peace offering. Why could the meat of the peace offering not be eaten after two days? The point seems to be that the peace offering was not about storing up meat but about fellowship. The peace offering was a voluntary act of thanksgiving to God. Part of it was given to Yahweh, part was eaten by the priest, and most of it was returned to the worshiper to share with family, friends, and whoever else was ritually clean. It was a celebration of communion with God and with others. If meat was kept until the third day, it would seem that it was being hoarded. The peace offering was not meant to be preserved but to be shared.

Holiness in Justice & Mercy

Verses 9-18 form another major section. These laws concern justice, compassion, and mercy. We should recognize verse 9-10 from our study of Ruth earlier in the year.

 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.

In Ruth, we see this law in action. Ruth was both poor and a sojourner in Israel. And Boaz, a godly man, walked in the fear of Yahweh by obeying this command. He left behind grain for the poor and even went further to ensure that Ruth was cared for.

Now what do we do with laws like this today? Most of us are not farmers. We do not have grain to leave behind. Should we leave part of our groceries outside the supermarket for others? Probably not.

The key to understanding how these laws apply today is to understand the principle of each command. What is the heart behind the command? For this law, the principle is: do not neglect the poor. Use what you have to care for the vulnerable.

And that principle certainly runs through the New Testament. James tells us that true religion is to care for the widows and orphans, and in Acts 15, when the apostles sent out a letter to the churches regarding circumcision, they also urge everyone to remember the poor. So, while the agricultural details do not apply to us directly, the principle absolutely does. God’s people are to be generous, compassionate, and mindful of those in need.

Verses 11-12 echo the Eighth, Nineth, and Third Commandments, reminding us that truthfulness and integrity are not optional for God’s people but are essential expressions of holiness.

Verses 13-14 focus on justice and compassion. Holding back a worker’s wages, even overnight, was considered oppression. God’s law requires fairness and compassion in economics. Furthermore, mocking or taking advantage of the deaf and blind is utterly opposed to walking in God’s holiness. Although we were deaf and blind to the gospel, God did not despise us but through the Spirit gave us eyes to see and ears to hear. Neither is God slow to pour out goodness upon mankind, righteous and wicked alike. These laws encourage us to be like our God.

Verses 15-16 deal with justice in judgment. God’s justice is impartial, neither favoring the poor nor flattering the rich. It judges with perfect equity and righteousness. We ought to do the same.

Unfortunately, our secular society was built upon the foundations of a Christian worldview but has now obliterated that very foundation. Thus, our culture prizes mercy and love, but it knows nothing of true justice, and as Lewis once warned, “mercy that is detached from justice becomes unmerciful.” That is precisely what many modern attempts at compassion are. Take the criminal justice system for example. A judge who refuses to sentence a guilty man isn’t being merciful; he is being unjust to the victim and ultimately unloving to the criminal himself, who needs to face the consequences of his sin. True mercy does not ignore guilt; it faces guilt boldly and points toward repentance. A society that refuses to uphold justice cannot show real mercy.

Andrew Bonar wrote, “’Causes must be heard, not persons,’ says Trappe. There must be in us no affection of kindness to the poor, even as there must be no fawning flattery of the great.” That is true justice. We must not be partial to either poverty or wealth.

Finally, verses 17-18 give us the law of love. Regarding holding a grudge, Trapp memorably comments: “We must not throw away the dagger but keep the sheath.” True holiness requires letting go of resentment.

Notice also that this is the immediate context for the great command in verse 18. It is not floating in the abstract; it is grounded in commands about grudges, vengeance, and forgiveness. Sadly, these commands are all too relatable, but Scripture gives us the antidote. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Holiness in Distinction

The third major section runs from verse 19 to verse 31. These are largely laws of distinction, commands that marked God’s people as set apart from the nations around them. Some of the commands here, such as witchcraft, omens, and necromancy, are still explicitly binding, especially as paganism makes a come-back in our culture.

But what about the mixed fabrics, trimmed beards, and tattoos? Are these to be applied to us in the same way they were for the ancient Israel? I do not believe so. Again, they are still applicable, but we need to understand the principle underneath them.

So, what was God teaching His people through these laws? Here is my proposal: God wanted Israel to be visibly distinct from the pagan nations around them. They were not to imitate the pagan customs, whether in agriculture, dress, grooming, or religion. Every part of their life was meant to remind them, “We are not like the nations. We belong to Yahweh.”

Now, how do we rightly obey them today? Not by avoiding cotton-polyester blends but by asking ourselves: How can I live as distinct from the world?

We belong to a spiritual nation that is within all the nations of the world. But just like Israel, we are called to be holy, to live in such a way that it is clear which King we serve. Be distinct; show that you belong to Christ. That is the principle here. Today this requires constant wisdom.

Of course, the clearest way to mark ourselves as distinct from the world is through love. Not the self-gratifying and sentimental love that the world celebrates, but real, difficult, costly, sacrificial love, the love that Christ displays in all its fullness and perfection. In John 13, Jesus told His disciples, “by this all men will know that you are my disciples, by your love for one another.” That is how the church marks itself as distinct from the world, which is utterly incapable of loving like Christ. So, is that true of you? Do you love your brothers and sisters within this congregation? Do you love believers from other congregations, even though with whom you greatly disagree? Do you show charity toward Christians from other traditions and denominations?

I believe one of the great challenges for Christianity in the coming decades, especially as secularism collapses and Islam and paganism rise to fill the void, is to recover a right ecumenical spirit, one rooted in truth and marked by love. We must rally around the creeds, take doctrinal differences seriously, and still lock arms under the name of Christ.

We might also make note of verses 20-22. Normally, adultery was a capital offense, resulting in the death of both the man and the woman. But in this case, because the woman is a slave, they are not killed. The text says, a distinction shall be made. If you are reading from the King James Version, you will see it translated quire differently: “She shall be scourged.” The reason for that variation is that we are uncertain of the exact meaning of the Hebrew word in that phrase. ESV makes a careful choice, but as Wenham notes, the best sense is probably, “a compensation shall be made.” Even though death is not dealt, the sinful man owes compensation to the man who intended to marry the slave woman.

And that brings us back to the guilt offering, which as we studied was never simply a matter of bringing a sacrifice and going home satisfied. It always involved restitution, making things right over a trespass that has been committed. That is what is happening here. The man makes an offering to God and a compensation to the offended party.

Holiness in Society

There are other commands here that we do not have time to unpack in detail, but let us look briefly at the final section of commands, which focus on holiness within society.

Verse 32 commands respect to be shown to the aged. It echoes the Fifth Commandment. In a culture that often idolizes youth and discards the elderly, this verse is a necessary rebuke. A society that loses respect for its elders is on a dangerous downward trajectory.

Verses 33-34 extend holiness outward to the foreigner. This is a radical command. Strangers and sojourners were among the most vulnerable people in the ancient world. There were no hotels and certainly no international laws. Foreigners depended entirely on the hospitality of others.

Verse 35 demands honesty and fairness in business.

The chapter then closes with God summoning His people to obey because they belong ot Him. They belong to Yahweh.

IS THIS LEGALISM?

Now that we have briefly toured the whole chapter, let us pull back and look at it from the lens of the New Testament. Because we are dealing with a massive list of laws, let us first answer this question: Is this call to holiness legalistic? Isn’t this just a bunch of rules, and didn’t Christ put all rules to death?

The short answer is no.

For the long answer, let’s consider what legalism is. I heard Doug Wilson say this summer say that a bad definition of legalism is someone who loves Jesus more than you. Sadly, that is often how the label gets applied. We see someone serious about obeying God than us, and we call that legalism. But that is not what legalism is. Legalism is one of two things: 1) trying to earn salvation by our good works or obedience, or 2) making a something other than Christ necessary for salvation.

That is legalism. Obedience itself is not legalism. Obedience is what God expects of us. So, pursuing holiness is not legalism; it is obedience to God’s Word.

We see this clearly in 1 Peter 1:14-18, where Peter quotes Leviticus 19:2. Verses 14-16 say:

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’

That is how we ought to frame holiness: as obedient children. We are God’s children through Christ. Through His death on the cross, He has fully cleansed our sins. But Christ did not free us, so that we could do whatever we want. He freed us to we could be restored to communion with God. We are to long for fellowship with God like a child longs for fellowship with his father. That fellowship is disrupted through disobedience but fostered through obedience.

Peter continues:

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Notice that Peter’s language echoes Exodus. Israel was ransomed and redeemed from Egypt. Likewise, we have been ransomed out of our former lives, from the patterns of sin and paganism passed down through our families. And that ransom was not paid in silver or gold but with the priceless blood of Christ. So, Peter’s point is simple: you have been forgiven and restored to God, so now live like it.

That is what holiness is, walking as a people who have been purchased by God. We have been set apart, made distinct from all other peoples, so conduct yourselves accordingly.

THE GOAL OF HOLINESS

Indeed, Paul tells us the goal of holiness is to be like Christ. Romans 8:28 is one of the most beloved promises in all of Scripture: “For we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” What a wonderful promise! Everything in life, even the worst trials and sufferings, work together for our good.

But what does good mean? And what is that purpose to which it is working?

Verse 29 tells us: “For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

There it is. The good and the purpose to which God calls us is to be conformed to the image of His Son. Holiness is about being shaped into Christ’s likeness. That is the goal of the Christian life.

If that sounds like legalism, then we have misunderstood the very heartbeat of the faith. Every believer should have this desire: “I have been ransomed by Christ. Now how can I become more like Him?” Indeed, we should have such a vision of the beauty of our Savior that we long to resemble Him. And that is exactly what God desires for us as well.

Christian, that is what God is doing in you. His wonderful plan for your life is not to make you happy, wealthy, and comfortable; His goal is to make you more like Jesus. By the way, Jesus was a man of sorrows, was not wealthy, and lived a life of tremendous difficulty.

So, is that your goal? If so, holiness makes perfect sense. Jesus gave Himself for me; I now give myself to Him.

Let us also note that Jesus Himself identified the very heart of this chapter: Love your neighbor as yourself.

In Mark 12:28, we read:

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

Now, we might expect Jesus to say, “All of it! Every commandment is equally important!” But instead, He immediately highlights two commandments:

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

No other command is greater than these because every other command flows from these two. All the commands that we have studied today trace back to one or more of the Ten Commandments, but all the Ten Commandments can be boiled down to these two commandments: love God and love others. That is the summary of the entire law.

Jesus drew the second commandment straight from this chapter, Leviticus 19. Aren’t you glad that Jesus knew the Old Testament?

But who is your neighbor? Jesus answered that question with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The answer is whoever is near you. Love the people around you as you love yourself.

Even though that command is the dominant them of the chapter, there are also commands that summon us to love God here. And that should not surprise us, for the two commands are inseparable. 1 John 4 says:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

It really is that simple.

Of course, simple does not mean easy.

Last week, we looked at sins that seemed distant and can make us feel good about ourselves for not having committed. But now, the command is Love your neighbor as yourself, which we do not always obey.

We do not consistently walk in the holiness that God commands. We are not always the obedient children that Peter calls us to be. We do not always allow the holiness of God to have full reign over every part of our lives. Indeed, Jesus is the only one who did truly love His neighbor as Himself.

But the beauty of the gospel is this: “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” That is where it all begins. Not with our love of God but with God’s love for us. We did not choose Him; He chose us. As the hymn rightly says, “If You had not loved me first, I would refuse You still.”

As we come to the Table this morning, let us consider the body and blood that Christ has given for us to make propitiation for our sins, to redeem us, to ransom us from the futile ways of our forefathers. Let trust only in Christ.

If we trust in our own goodness, that is legalism. Let none of us come to the Table thinking, “I’ve been good enough this week to partake.” That was the mindset of the Laodiceans.

The proper way to come to the Table is saying: “Lord, I have nothing. I am nothing. I can bring nothing to you. But I come in Christ.” And God’s response is always: “Come, child.”

Let the Table remind us of this gospel, that we have been redeemed and called to holiness, to walk in Him, to become like Him, to be conformed to the image of the One who died to save us. So, as we come to the table before us, let us taste and see the goodness of our Savior, who has not ransomed pieces of our lives, but has ransomed all of us. And may we give all of ourselves back to Him in thankfulness. Come take the true peace offering this morning.