Leviticus is not as dull as I remember

I am a New Covenant Christian.

That's not because I reject the old testament, or somehow believe that I have chosen to be a New Covenanet Christian. It's simple cosmology. The old covenant has been replaced, and that new covenant is the relationship to God that I have inheritted, based on the timing of my birth. For the record, I did nothing to decide that.

But I have been reading Leviticus and thinking about the differences between the old and new covenant, as they have appeared in my thinking and understanding of the Person of God, and what God must think about us.

The thing is, on the surface you can read Leviticus and see a very touchy God. Aaron's sons worship God with incense and fire, but they get it slightly wrong and are killed by God's presence. Sounds rough. But I see something in the character of God here that is eternal, beyond old or new covenant.

God hates Sin. Nadab and Abihu were atoning for sins and that's what they got wrong, so as God's wrath burned against sin, it burned up the ones who had incorrectly made sacrifices to atone for that sin.

For years I have looked at this type of thing and have been thankful that I don't have the same level of risk when approaching the presence of God. I have looked to Jesus with love and thankfulness that He paid the price and became the way to the Father. But perhaps what has been a little too easy to forget that eternal characteristic that did not change with the coming of Jesus: God hates sin.

Jesus is not our excuse to become lazy in our relationship to God as it pertains to sin. Jesus paid the price, and for too long I held a subconcious psychic belief that this meant that my sin no longer mattered. It's been paid for, covered by the mercy of Jesus, so now I live in grace, and there is no need to care at all about sin.

So when mankind was in control of their own sacrifices, bringing the approved bull or goat, or whathaveyou, God consumed it and man's relationship to God was restored. This was actually a more carefree time as regards sin, not a more dangerous or fearful time, as I had presumed. Today I am not required to bring an offereing to pay for my sin, because Holy God gave his own SON to receive the wrath for my sin. How can I look at that and say "oh good, it doesn't matter now"? It clearly matters all the more how I choose to live my life.

If I could raise a bull, bring it to church, slaughter it and my sins are forgiven, I am in control and can sin the more. I'm not raising a bull, I'm raising an indulgence. But when Jesus instituted a new covenant relationship with God, he instituted a higher standard, where He is forever on the cross paying for my sin, and forever victoriously giving me grace to withstand its effects. That is not a cause to care less about how I live, but a deep calling to be mindful of it.