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Subject 26 : LEVITICUS
[26-15] Devote Your Life to Saving Lives (Leviticus 17:10-16)
(Leviticus 17:10-16)
“‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’ Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust; for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”
Jesus Is Sovereign over Life
During the age of the Old Testament, the people of Israel were forbidden from eating any kind of blood. This was one of the first commandments that God gave to the people of Israel. By prohibiting them from eating blood, God was commanding them not to eat any life of the flesh. This is what God meant when He told the Israelites that while they could eat the flesh of animals, they could not eat their blood. That’s because God is sovereign over life.
On this issue, it’s very important for us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to realize that God is telling us here to save lives. In other words, it is incumbent upon us to share life rather than letting it perish. We ought to save souls and bring the remission of sins to them through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. What, then, should we do to bring the remission of sins to people and save their lives?
The Works of the Flesh Are Evident
For us to save souls from their sins, we must be guided by the Holy Spirit. To ensure this, we must first of all believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must not become conceited, provoking one another, envying, or being in competition with one another (Galatians 5:26).
What, then, is the work that saves lives? We know very well that the fruit of the Spirit is different from the fruit of the flesh. The works of the flesh are evident, and these include such things as adultery, fornication, and rejecting the righteousness of God. They also entail idolatry, sorcery, and enmity with the righteousness of God. Other attributes characteristic of the works of the flesh are contentions, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, and selfish ambitions. They also include, swearing, dissensions, heresies, envy, drunkenness, and revelries. Like this, the works of the flesh are revealed evidently. When we turn to Galatians 5:19-26, we can see the Scripture describing what such a fleshly life is like. We can see that it’s completely opposite to following the Holy Spirit and saving lives. The Bible says in Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.” Those who lead such a life cannot do the work of saving lives.
It’s written in Leviticus 17:12, “You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.” This prohibition against eating any blood is also found in Genesis chapter 9. When God said that we should not eat any blood, He was commanding us not to kill any soul that can be saved.
What Is the Work That Saves People’s Lives?
There was a special commandment that God gave to all the people born after Noah’s flood. This commandment was the prohibition against blood, as it’s written, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Genesis 9:3-4). By this, God was telling us to never do anything that would kill and devour another person’s soul, even though we all do the things of the flesh from time to time. Accordingly, we should never do anything that can lead another person’s soul to perish. God commanded us not to eat the flesh of any animal with its blood, because the life of the flesh is the blood, and the blood is the same as life itself. Therefore, we must never allow ourselves to preach a false gospel and consequently kill the souls that would have otherwise been saved. We ought to do the things that save lives rather than killing them.
Everyone has a life. We must therefore work to save this life. To do so, we must refrain from following the flesh and devote ourselves fully to saving the souls of those who are perishing. If we commit any sin with our flesh, then it’s only a matter of course that we ought to wash it away again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
When we turn to Leviticus 17:15-16, we see the Bible saying, “And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.” Spiritually speaking, those who eat what died naturally or what was born by beasts here refer to those who believe in something else other than the true gospel. Because they committed sin with our flesh, we had to wash their clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then they became clean.
How should we wash away our iniquities? We should wash them away with our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We should go to the Jordan River where the Lord bore all our sins, and wash them away with our faith in the righteousness of God. Spiritually speaking, if we ate what was torn to death by beasts, we must wash ourselves by believing in the righteousness of Jesus. That’s when our sins are passed on to Jesus. The remission of sins is then received by faith. We must wash our hearts with our faith in the baptism of Jesus and His blood. Our hearts will then become clean again.
But what would happen if we sin again after receiving the remission of sins, but neglect to pass these sins by ruminating on the gospel of the water and the Spirit nor wash it away with faith? We will not recover. Indeed, we will suffer from the sins that remain with us. Therefore, if we commit a sin again by chance, we must wash it away immediately by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This does not mean that we are to wash away our sins by offering our prayers of repentance, but rather, by trusting in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God. We ought to go to the Jordan River, confess that these sins of ours were indeed passed on to the Lord through the ministry of John the Baptist, and confirm this again with our faith. All our sins must be washed away like this with our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Therefore, if we ever find ourselves sinning with our flesh, we must wash this sin away as soon as possible with our faith in the righteousness of God. Without this faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we cannot wash away our sins, just as the Scripture says, “But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.” Therefore, we must go to the Jordan River and wash away our sins as soon as possible with our faith in the righteousness of God. We must cleanse away our sins, believing that the Lord took away these sins also.
We must do the work that saves the lives and souls that died. To do this, we must refrain from following the flesh. We ought to be joyful and pleased with this work that saves souls by faith. It is by faith that we do the work of the Spirit, that is, the work that saves souls from their sins. We must fulfill our roles, which is washing away people’s sins with the clear water of the Jordan River. To this end, we must live only by our faith in the righteousness of God.
How then can we save lives? You and I can firstly pray for the souls that we have in mind. These souls could be from your workplace, friends, or our own family. Whoever they might be, we ought to guide their souls to receive the remission of sins. It’s through us that God brings the remission of sins to them. We must do this work throughout our entire lifetime. Preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit is what you and I can do as the redeemed to save lives. We should no longer live only for our flesh, worried about how to make a living or what to eat or drink. The works of the flesh are very evident, including that of adultery, greed, and the likes, and such things are not what we should be living for. From now on, we must make up our minds and devote the rest of our remaining lives to saving the lives of others. It’s absolutely crucial for us to realize just how precious thing it is save the lives that were dead in sin.
One soul is more precious than everything under the heavens. The gospel of the water and the Spirit, the gospel of the remission of sins, is the precious Word of God that can save every single soul. We must preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to all the souls so that they may believe in this gospel wholeheartedly, and thereby, receive the complete remission of their sins. It is incumbent upon us to help them realize just how precious and valuable this remission of sins really is. We must do this work without fail. How precious is each and every life? This preciousness of life is appreciated when one is facing certain death. When death is imminent, one realizes just how precious and valuable life really is.
Saving the lives that are dead in their sins by sharing with them the work of the baptism of Jesus and of His blood on the Cross is what preaching the gospel is all about. Spreading this gospel of the water and the Spirit is what save lives. We are laboring to save people’s lives one by one. We are working to wash away their sins, and this work that brings the dead back to life is what spreading the gospel is all about.
What a precious work this is? Can there be any work on this earth more precious than this? No, saving lives is the most precious work. It’s written, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).
The Most Precious Work
The most precious work is sharing God’s love, and this is sharing the work of the water and blood of Jesus Christ. With the water, Jesus Christ washed away people’s sins, and with His life, He was judged for their sins, and, gave them new life. He also delivered them from the Judgment and enabled them to be born again. This work is more precious than any other work in the world. The gospel of the water and the Spirit we are preaching is what saves people’s lives. So by remembering just how precious it is to save lives, let us all devote ourselves even more to preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit and saving lives.
We must dedicate ourselves to this work, inviting and guiding souls. For us to do the work that saves souls, spiritually speaking, there must be dry firewood for the Altar of Burnt Offering, as there must be water and fire also. There must also be the servants ministering, and there must be the Word of God and His faithful working servants as well. Our God must be with us also, and we must, of course, have the necessary financial resources also. Feel free to invite to this revival meeting as many souls as you want. If you don’t have anyone to invite, then participate in this work with material and financial contributions. Everyone who wants to take part in this revival meeting is welcome. We are doing so voluntarily by our faith in the righteousness of God.
Saving lives is a truly precious, beautiful, and blessed work. Those who have the gospel of the water and the Spirit—that is, those who have received the remission of sins—preach this gospel of the water and the Spirit to those who still have not received the remission of sins. Those who already believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit enable the sinful to receive the remission of sins by preaching this gospel to them. Sinners will then be washed clean from their sins and become sinless. This is the most beautiful picture in the world. This picture is the most beautiful picture of all, more stunning than any other picture in the world.
Those who are serving God to save lives are also very beautiful. How wonderful is it to see a physician saving a person’s life? Physicians heal the sick. It’s with a sense of calling that they deal with their patients, treat them, perform surgeries on them, and save their lives. They also encourage their patients’ hearts. What an amazing work is it to save a life that’s perishing? We are doing such a truly marvelous work. What a worthy and fulfilling work it is? We are serving the most beautiful and precious work that saves lives.
My fellow believers, you and I have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We are now preaching the gospel to the souls that are dead in their sins. These souls are then washed from their sins, and they come to live again by believing in the gospel and in Jesus. What a beautiful and precious work this truly is? We must remember that saving lives a truly marvelous and beautiful work.
In the Scripture, God told the people of Israel that no one, whether an Israelite or a Gentile, should eat the flesh of any animal with its blood, and that whoever does so will be cut off from them. Any Israelite who killed another person’s soul was cut off from the people of Israel. Even to the people of Israel, God warned that if any of them killed another person’s soul, He will cut him off. He said so because it’s such an important and precious work.
My fellow believers, you and I have the kind of life that can wash away people’s sins and save their dead souls. We have the one thing that can save lives—that is, we have the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We are indeed capable of great things. If only we decide to save the souls that are dead in sin, we will indeed save them. However, if we decide to serve just our flesh, then we will not gain anything from God. We all have a soul and a body. In our hearts, we have the gospel of power that can save souls. We have the gospel of God and His righteousness. That’s why we can save souls. We know that this work is precious. It is all about saving lives by faith. If we just set our minds to it and then actually do it, then we can all carry out the precious work that brings countless dead souls back to life and enables them to receive new life.
We are the ones who have the righteousness of God that can save countless people. We have the righteousness of God that can deliver everyone and bring the dead back to life. We have the faith that can save souls, and we know the mystery of faith. We are the ones who possess the Kingdom of God and His life. We are the pathway to God’s blessings. We are the pathway to God’s life also. You and I are the pathway to sharing life. We must never eat any blood. We must do the work that saves people’s souls and lives, leading them to have God’s life. Throughout our entire lifetime, you and I must cherish the work that saves lives. We must do the work that saves lives.
What is the purpose for living in this world? Our purpose is to save people’s lives. We must not boast of anything else. We must not boast of our flesh. Instead, we ought to take pride in the work we have done to save souls. I give all my thanks to God for using us as His set apart and holy workers. All that I have done is just preach the gospel, but God has saved many souls and made them receive the remission of sins. These are the things that we should be grateful for and proud of.
There is only one thing that you and I can boast of throughout our entire lifetime, and that is that God has saved people’s lives. He has given us His righteousness. God has shared the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ with us and with everyone else. We ought to be proud of the fact that God has used us as His workers sharing His flesh and blood. Boasting of the flesh is not something the righteous should be doing. Instead, they ought to be proud of the work they are doing to save souls. We ought to boast of Jesus our Lord, who has given us new life.
God said to pour all the blood out on the ground. The ground refers to the human heart. It means that God has given us new life. He has given new life to the souls that had once been dead in sin. He has brought our souls back to life and saved us. Not only this, God has also entrusted us with His precious work. I am so grateful for this wonderful blessing. I pray with all my heart that we will never allow ourselves to eat any blood spiritually. I hope and pray that we would instead save lives by sprinkling the baptism and blood of Jesus on the Altar of Burnt Offering. Hallelujah!
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Copyright © 2021 by The New Life Mission