Godliness: Our Task and Responsibility
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Scripture reading
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread. And assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Introduction
Introduction
This morning I’d like for us to think about godliness as our personal responsibility to God. The Apostle Paul wrote to the young Timothy, “Train yourself for godliness.” And the word “train” here is gumnazo, from which we get the word “gymnasium” or “gym.” And he says there is some value in bodily training, working out, but much more valuable is the spiritual training, training for godliness.
So what does it mean to train for godliness?
Godliness in Greek is eusebeia.
Eu" (εὖ), = "well" or "good."
Sebeia (σέβεια) = "reverence" or "piety."
So, "eusebeia" means "good reverence" or "well-directed piety". It’s about being pious, committed, and devoted to the reverence of God.
Imagine a man who goes to a gym, once or twice a week. The membership fee is a tenth of his salary. But he only does bicep curls. And so after five years he ends up as a skinny guy with huge biceps and chicken legs.
When you hit the gym, you shouldn’t just exercise one part of your body. If you want big biceps, you need to even it out with big triceps. If you want a big chest, you need to have a big back. And if your upper body is huge, you have to balance it out with some squats. We need to consider every part of our body, and train in a way that gives them due respect.
So what about our godliness? How’s the training coming along? When you hit the gym, you know you’re doing the right thing if you see your muscles growing. When we grow in godliness, we grow spiritual fruits. The fruit of thanksgiving. The fruit of praise. The fruit of love, peace, patience. The fruit of evangelism. The fruit of repentance.
Now, who’s in charge of our godliness? Who’s responsible for our godliness training program? In the Old Testament, the priests were in charge. They mediated between God and the people. They played the middle-man. So if you wanted to sacrifice something to God, you needed a priest. If you wanted to learn about God’s Word, you needed a priest. If you wanted to grow in godliness, you needed a priest.
But Jesus comes in the New Testament and declares that all who believe in Him are priests. We are a royal priesthood. That means that godliness is now our task and our responsibility. It is our calling.
If you’re on a soccer team with a professional player, you might not even touch the ball and still win the game. But godliness doesn’t work like that. If that were the case, then all you need is a very holy senior pastor and you’ll automatically become godly.
But godliness is more like working out. No one can lift the weights for you. No one can train for you. Your personal godliness is no one else’s responsibility but your own. The ball is in your court. If you want to train, train. If you want to grow, grow.
So this morning I’d like to introduce you to the different parts of our spiritual body. We can see them in today’s passage in Lev. 8, where Moses ordains Aaron and his sons as the first priests. And I want us to think of each stage as part of our spiritual body.
We must cultivate our calling
We must cultivate our calling
Leviticus 8:1–5 (ESV)
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread. And assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded to be done.”
Who was Aaron? Aaron was the most unworthy person. He led the Israelites into idolatry at the foot of Mt. Sinai while Moses was up the mountain. That’s all in Exodus 32. And who were the Levites? The most unworthy tribe. The tribe that all of Israel frowned on because of the sins of their father. But God chooses them, and claims them as His priests. And it doesn’t matter how much you want to become a priest or not. Back then, if your father’s a priest, then you are a priest. You’re born into the position. Money can’t buy it. Good works can’t earn it.
And what we see here is that Moses is the one performing the ordination. But Moses was the shadow, and Jesus is the substance. He’s the real thing. And all that Moses did for the priests, Jesus does for us. And He places a holy calling upon our lives. He gives us a new purpose, one that is meaningful and eternal.
who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
So we need to cultivate our calling. To deepen our conviction of God’s purpose for our lives. And it begins with acceptance. We need to accept that we are now responsible to do what priests do. To offer sacrifices daily, the keep the fire burning day and night. The fire of prayer. The fire of worship. The fire of love among the saints. This is our cross, and we must bear it on our shoulders.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
We must have pure intentions
We must have pure intentions
And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.
The washing with water symbolizes the cleansing of the heart from impure motives.
When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, He implies that Judas isn’t clean. Judas had a secret purpose that served his own desires.
Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.”
The Danish philosopher Soren Kiekegaard wrote a book entitled “Purity of heart is to will one thing.” And in it he says this. We need to will one thing: a deep and authentic relationship with God. Everything else leads to selfishness and hidden motives. We must not be like this. If you remember in the book of 1 Samuel, the sons of Eli used their priestly position for their personal benefit. We must not be like that.
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
So we need to reflect on our intentions. Why am I here? Why am I serving? And we need to reflect on our prayers too. Am I praying for what I want, or for what God wants? Jesus taught us to pray “Thy will be done.” Not “my will be done.” So we should pray “God, this is the situation I’m in. And I want You to be glorified through it. I want you to turn this around and use it to exalt the name of Jesus.” That’s how we should pray.
We must surrender our sins and our successes
We must surrender our sins and our successes
After washing them with water, Moses puts the priestly garments on them.
And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. And he put the coat on him and tied the sash around his waist and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him and tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him, binding it to him with the band. And he placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses.
And Moses brought Aaron’s sons and clothed them with coats and tied sashes around their waists and bound caps on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.
So who prepared the priestly garments? It wasn’t the priests themselves. Moses prepared the garments. Likewise, Jesus clothes us with the garments that He Himself has prepared. The physical clothes cover the physical body. But Jesus covers us with a spiritual garment. The Bible calls it the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness.
Isaiah 61:10 (ESV)
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
But it isn’t just any righteousness. It’s the righteousness of Jesus Himself. And Jesus knew this. That’s why it says that for our sake, for the sake of all who would believe in Him, He consecrated Himself.
And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Imagine with me for a second, the beauty of Jesus’ righteousness. Unblemished. Blameless. Pure. There is no fault in Him. And that’s how breath-takingly beautiful we are in the sight of the Father. Jesus covers us with His righteousness.
But have you ever felt unattractive to God? I know how ashamed I feel when I sin, when I do the wrong thing, or when I fail to do the right thing.
Or have you ever felt especially worthy? If you do dawn prayer every morning and read 10 chapters a day, and you serve the church with all your heart. Never late, always on time. And you start to feel that God loves you more. But you don’t realize you’ve put on the old self again. You’ve exchanged the beauty of Christ for filthy rags.
Isaiah 64:6 (ESV)
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Brothers and sisters, we must not make this mistake of legalism. We need to put off our old selves and put on Christ. We must let go of our failures and our successes. It’s the spiritual discipline of surrendering to God. To let go of our ego. We can think of the elders in Revelation who cast their crowns before Him who is seated on the throne (Rev. 4:10).
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
We must make the best use of our time
We must make the best use of our time
Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.
Moses then anoints the tabernacle and the items inside. And then he pours the anointing oil on Aaron’s head.
The anointing oil represents the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word for anoint is masha, which means to smear. And it’s where we get the word “Messiah,” which means “Anointed one.” So Jesus, as the Messiah, comes as the true prophet, priest, and king (Luke 4:17-19). And He seals us with the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
So we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. How? The Apostle Paul says to make the best use of our time.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
So in order to be filled with the Spirit, we have to make the best use of our time. How? By understanding the will of God. That means we need to search and study the Scriptures. And dedicate our time to the things of God.
So our schedules must elevate the things of God. And we must purge them of the desires of the flesh.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Brothers and sisters, we must not waste time. It’s time for us to grow up and put away the things of this world. This is what it means to take our calling seriously.
We must train in receiving love from God
We must train in receiving love from God
Then Moses performs a sin offering (Lev. 8:14-17), and a burnt offering (Lev. 8:18-21).
The sin offering cleanses and purifies the pollution of sin. It removes the stain of sin from the person. As our sin offering, Jesus is the one whose blood washes us clean from our sin.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
The burnt offering atones for sin and reconciles the sinner to God. It pays the wages of sin. As our burnt offering, Jesus’ blood shed on the cross satisfied the wrath of God and reconciled us to God.
So let me ask you, how loved do you feel today? Are you loved? How are you loved? We have to train ourselves not only to give and give and give, but also to receive. You can’t pour from empty buckets. So how can we receive love? Jesus tells us to abide in His love.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
The word “abide” is meno, meaning “to stay,” “to remain,” or “to reside.” At the end of a long day, we want to go home right? God says to us today, “Let My love be your home. Your search for love is over. You don’t need to wander anymore.”
Jesus is the lover of your soul. He loves you so much, He thinks you’re worth dying for. You are worth it to Him.
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
So as priests, we must train ourselves to receive love from God.
We must dedicate our ears, hands, and feet to God’s service
We must dedicate our ears, hands, and feet to God’s service
After the sin offering and burnt offering, Moses offers an ordination offering. And the purpose of this offering is to set a person apart for the priesthood.
And as part of the ordination offering, Moses takes the blood of the sacrificial ram and applies it to the right ear, right thumb, and right big toe.
And he killed it, and Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Then he presented Aaron’s sons, and Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses threw the blood against the sides of the altar.
The right side was considered to be more important, and symbolized the whole. So why the right ear, right thumb, and right toe?
The Hebrew word for ordination is millu, which comes from mala, which literally means “to be filled” or “to have your hands full.” So the priest must have consecrated ears to listen to God’s voice, consecrated hands to do God’s will, and consecrated feet to walk in God’s path.
The priests’ thoughts, deeds, and destinations must be filled with the things of God.
Psalm 24:3–4 (ESV)
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.
To ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in his holy place. That’s the feet. He who has clean hands. That’s the hands. And who does not lift up his soul to what is false. That’s the ears.
I pray that we, too, will consecrate our ears, hands, and feet like this. And may we ascend the hill of the Lord, and stand on Mt. Zion with the saints in the last day.
We must train in humility
We must train in humility
After the ordination offering, Moses sprinkles the oil and the blood onto Aaron and his garments, and his sons and their garments.
Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and his sons’ garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.
What’s interesting is that both the oil and the blood are sprinkled onto the priests and their garments.
As we’ve already seen, the oil represents the Holy Spirit. And here the blood is the blood of the sacrifice. We can think of it like this. The Holy Spirit’s job is to build a bridge between us and Jesus. And when we repent, He transfers our sins back in time and nails it to the cross. And He scoops the precious blood of Christ and sprinkles it on us to cleanse us. And it is mighty to save because the blood of Christ outweighs our sins every time.
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
See, the Spirit sanctifies us. He loves us. And when we sin, He can’t wait to bring it to the cross. He’s just waiting for us to repent. “Forgive me Jesus for I have sinned. Cleanse me by the blood You shed on the cross.” Just pray like that, and right away we are made new. We are great sinners, but Jesus is a greater Savior.
Confessing our sins is also part of our training in godliness.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
It is a spiritual practice to confess your sins. I know this gives you hives, but it keeps us humble before God and others, and helps us to have a contrite spirit. I'm not saying to tell everyone your sins. But it’s a blessing to have an accountability partner to confide in. Ideally, this should be your spouse. If not, I’d recommend having a spiritual friend to journey alongside you.
We must train our spiritual eyes to see God
We must train our spiritual eyes to see God
And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ And what remains of the flesh and the bread you shall burn up with fire.
After the sacrificial offerings, the priests are to have an ordination meal in the presence of God. It symbolizes the special privilege that priests alone can enjoy. No one else gets to eat in God’s presence like this. No one else can live before the face of God. Only the priests.
This is the discipline of God-mindfulness. To see the presence of the unseen God. To live before the face of God. We see that Joseph practiced this discipline. God didn’t speak to him even once, but when a married woman pulled him to bed, he could resist. Could you commit adultery if a third party’s in the room? Joseph resisted because God was in the room with him, and he knew it.
So we must consider this seriously. We must train our spiritual eyes like this, to behold God’s presence. We must be mindful of who is in the room.
as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Conclusion
Conclusion
So let’s recap what are the spiritual body parts we need to train.
We must cultivate our calling.
We must have pure intentions
We must surrender our sins and successes
We must make the best use of our time
We must train in receiving love from God
We must dedicate our ears, hands, and feet to God’s service
We must train in humility
We must train our spiritual eyes to see God
These are our personal responsibilities as priests consecrated by Jesus Christ.
The great American preacher Jonathan Edwards, in the year 1722, wrote 70 resolutions before God, and he reviewed them every week. I’d like to read some of them for you.
Resolution 5: Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
Resolution 6: Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
Resolution 28: Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in knowledge of the same.
Resolution 30: Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.
Resolution 37: Resolved, to inquire every night, as I am going to bed, where I have been negligent, what sin I have committed, and where I have denied myself.
Resolution 43: Resolved, never to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God’s.
Resolution 56: Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.
He wrote these when he was 19 years old. Ten years younger than me, but ten times more committed to godliness.
Brothers and sisters, godliness is our privilege. It is the qualifying mark of a true believer. It is the evidence that assures us that hell is behind and heaven is ahead. It is our task. It is our responsibility. It is our inheritance.
So when should we start? The best time to start working out is five years ago. The second best time is today. So I pray that we will start today. Amen?
The bishop J.C. Ryle wrote this warning to young men in the 1800s, and this is what he said.
“Tomorrow is the devil’s day, but today is God’s. Satan does not care how spiritual your intentions are, or how holy your resolutions might be, so long as they are fixed for tomorrow. Do not let the devil mislead you! Answer him, “No, Satan! It shall be today. Today!”