The Legacy of a Godly Church

Leviticus 10:4-5 ESV

4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” 5 So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said.

I’ve always been kind of a history buff and have always enjoyed learning more and more about historical facts, events, and people from days gone by.

In fact, I can recall many times when I was a child growing up and sitting in the chair in the corner of my living room by the bookshelf where the encyclopedia set could be found, opening up a random volume, and getting sucked into it.

And one of the events that I particularly have enjoyed studying throughout the years is the American Revolutionary War. I like to learn about the events leading up the war, the individual battles, and campaigns during the war, and some of the individuals that became prominent players throughout the war. Political leaders, prominent citizens, and the generals and high-ranking soldiers who were on the battle lines.

One of those generals that some of you may know of was a man named, Benedict Arnold.

Benedict Arnold was once recognized as one of the greatest assets to the American Colonial Army, quickly rising to the rank of Major General. In fact, he had gained so much recognition so fast that General George Washington placed him in command of West Point in New York.

But soon after receiving his new post, Benedict Arnold defected to the British side of the conflict after receiving a great sum of money to do so.

This was a devastating blow to the American forces. But what may have been most disturbing about all of this was the fact that someone so highly ranked and so trusted actually defected to the other side and proved himself to be a treacherous traitor to the place that he had called home.

Thus today, quite often you will find that when someone accuses someone else of being a traitor, they will call that person a “Benedict Arnold”.

But what was really bad about all of this for Benedict Arnold himself was that joining the British Army didn’t pay off for him in the long run.

Of course, we all know that the British found themselves on the losing end of the Revolutionary War, but also, Benedict Arnold was not well received by the army that he had defected to. I mean, these were the very men who he had once fought against, and now they are supposed to take him in with open arms? It didn’t quite work out that way for him…

So, there was a distrust between he and the soldiers that he led, and after the war was over, he figured that he could move to Canada since the British didn’t like him that much. But once he got to Canada, he realized that they liked him even less than the British.

So, because he wasn’t liked by the British, he didn’t want to live there, and he wasn’t liked by the Canadians, so he didn’t want to live there either, and he most definitely wasn’t going to try to show his face on American soil ever again, so he decided to move back amongst the British as he figured that they disliked him the least.

And thus, the legacy of Benedict Arnold is one of a man who betrayed his country for the sake of money and potential fame, but who died being hated by all in a country not his own.

Such has become the fate of a countless number of Christian denominations who once boldly proclaimed the orthodox Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, found in the authoritative Word of God alone, but now find themselves in a pitiful, compromising state, and can hardly even be considered Christian anymore.

For the sake of what they consider to be unity, peace, and love, they have found themselves compromising on the pure doctrines of the Christian faith to such an extent to where no one who takes seriously the faith of Christ would consider them to be legitimate Christian denominations.

Their origins began with the Puritans who came to this country in an attempt to escape religious persecution and to claim a land in which all of its inhabitants would truly worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.

These men boldly proclaimed the true, orthodox Gospel of Jesus Christ, founding some of the holiest denominations in American history, but now, hundreds of years later, their successors say things like, “Love is love” and, “We all worship the same God, ALL religions lead to heaven”.

Pitiful speech from men who claim to be the spiritual guides for those in their congregations!

The legacy that is left for such denominations is as the legacy of Benedict Arnold; traitors to the cause of Christ and being justifiably abhorred by both Christ and His true followers.

As we continue in our series of messages from Leviticus 10:1-11, what we see in our message for today is the mournful fate of two men, who like these now, heretical Christian denominations, leaves only a memory of those who were given the charge to lead the faithful, but who ultimately failed to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth and thus leaves for us a legacy of those who abandoned the faith and therefore suffered the just judgment of God.

Last week, as we began this narrative, we spoke of how the Lord had been preparing His people, Israel to properly worship Him as they sojourned through the wilderness.

And while the proper worship of the Lord was the responsibility of every Israelite, it was the primary responsibility of those whom God had set apart as His priests.

The priests were those who approached God and offered Him the sacrifices and offerings of the people; therefore, it was imperative that those who functioned in the role of priest done so on the basis of complete seriousness, recognizable piety, and the utmost regard for the holiness of the God Whom they present the offerings and sacrifices before.

Well, last week we saw how two of God’s priests, the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu had offered the Lord incense, but with fire that was not authorized by God.

We said that the fire that was supposed to be used in this offering was the fire that was continuously burning at the altar. Well, these sons of Aaron did not use that fire which God commanded them to use, and thus they took it into their own hands to determine how God ought to be worshipped.

The result of these taking the worship of God into their own hands was their immediate destruction. They were instantly burned and consumed by a fire that came from the Lord, receiving their just punishment.

Once these had suffered their due punishment, it needed to be decided what should be done with these priests who tragically neglected the holy worship of the Living God.

This is where we arrive at our reading for today. Let’s go ahead and take another look at it; Leviticus, chapter 10, verses 4 and 5. It reads:

Leviticus 10:4-5 ESV

4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” 5 So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said.

These two charred bodies now lie before the sanctuary, in the very place where God carried out His judgment against them, and clearly, they could not remain there, they needed to be carried away. And not only carried away but carried out of the camp.

“The camp” signifies where Israel, the people of God dwelt. Thus, for one to be taken outside of the camp meant to no longer be considered a part of the chosen people of God.

Therefore, Moses calls his cousins, Mishael and Elzaphan to come and carry these sons of Aaron away, outside of the camp, signifying that they no longer hold a place amongst the people of God.

At the command of Moses, Mishael and Elzaphan come near the charred bodies of their distant cousins and carry them by their coats, their priestly robes, and took them out of the camp, leaving a legacy for themselves as those who transgressed the Law of God, reasoning that they knew better than God as to how He should be worshipped. And because this was how they reasoned and transgressed; they suffered the due penalty of their sin.

That was the legacy that they left behind…

But I think that Robert Jamieson in his commentary on these two verses explains it even better, when he says:

“The removal of the two corpses for burial without the camp would spread the painful intelligence amongst all the congregation. The interment of the priestly vestments along with them was a sign of their being polluted by the sin of their irreligious wearers; and the remembrance of so appalling a judgment could not fail to strike a salutary fear into the hearts both of priests and people.”

The charred remains of Nadab and Abihu, still dressed in their priestly robes that were once pure and white served as a reminder of the judgment that awaits those who fail to take seriously the worship of God and who desire to alter it.

As I said earlier in this message, there have been several prominent denominations in the past that once stood for godliness, several individual congregations in the past that once stood for godliness, but because they felt as though they knew better than God as to how they should worship Him, their former glory is now gone, and they can hardly claim to be legitimate Christian institutions at this point.

Beloved, the fact of the matter is that too many think that they know how God ought to be worshipped rather than how He commands to be worshipped, and the result of this kind of reasoning leads to transgression, and the result of the transgression is deadly.

This is definitely serious stuff to consider. We may not be among those older denominations that have completely lost their way and are no longer recognizable as Christian institutions, but the threat certainly still lingers.

The modern threat, I believe, consists of what may be considered a consumer-based faith. In other words, the modern threat to many within the orthodox church is a faith, if you can even really call it a faith that focuses mainly on emotionally charged songs and sermons that not only make the attendees feel great about themselves, but also feel almost an emotional jolt of sorts.

Now, this is indeed a threat, an extremely deceptive threat. I mean, who doesn’t want to feel good about themselves? Who doesn’t want to feel fired up after the sermon and song service?

Yet this is the enemy’s ploy!

Get people so focused on themselves and how they feel and all inside of a building that’s called a church and you will fool a countless number of people.

And it works! These are the kind of “churches” where people want to be!

But is this what God really desires and commands when we worship Him? Does He call us to be emotionally charged by what we hear and to walk away feeling great about ourselves?

Sure, legitimate worship may cause us to feel certain emotions, but these emotions should emulate a reverence for God. And I’m sorry, but if you walk away from a sermon feeling great about yourself and not in holy awe of God, then you have sat in on a sermon that glorifies and exalts man rather the One Who created man for His own glory.

Beloved, may we at Bethany Cumberland Presbyterian Church never be among such “churches”! I don’t want that kind of legacy for us!

Beloved, may we be among those who truly worship the Living God in spirit and in truth. May we always leave the legacy of a godly church that exists solely for the glory of God!

Amen?