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We will continue our studies from the book of Leviticus. Today we're going to look at an overview on from chapters 11 till 15. Yeah, and the title of the sermon is Life In The Presence Of A Holy God. Holiness—Life In The Presence Of A Holy God. We'll read a scripture portion from Leviticus chapter 11 verses 44 to 45. It says, “You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” The book of Leviticus unfolds
through three dramatic movements that address one central question, and that is how may sinful humanity approached the holy presence of Yahweh. And Leviticus chapters 11 till 15 demonstrates how the clean and unclean laws function within the covenantal drama of Israel's relationship with their God. And this dramatic narrative is structured around man's inability to enter God's presence apart from his gracious provision.
There are three movements that we see. Number one is that God's dwelling was established among his people. This was first promised in Exodus chapter 25, where God commands Moses to build a sanctuary for him, and that was fulfilled in Exodus chapter 40, and where we saw that how the divine glory fill God's house. Yet this dwelling place of God was not yet a meeting place of God—sorry, meeting place with his people. And there is a second movement that we see, that uh, and that is how God gives certain laws, how man can approach God's house.
And in Exodus chapter 40 towards the end, we see a crisis. No one can enter God's house, not even Moses. And there is a resolution that we see in Leviticus chapter 9. Now entry becomes possible from verses chapter—sorry, from chapters 1 till 8. We see that there is a resolution now that the entry is possible or made possible because of the sacrificial system and also of the priesthood, and we see that no the priesthood was consecrated for the work. And finally in Leviticus chapter 9 we see that God's glory appears when Moses and Aaron enter the tent of meeting. And there is a third movement in the, in this narrative, and that is, you know, that people can draw near to God. In Leviticus chapter 10 verses 1 till 3 we see that there
that Nadab and Abihu approaches God with, uh, you know, in an unauthorized manner, and there was death and also defilement. And their, their deaths serve two primary purposes. First, they have defiled the tabernacle, God's new creation, the his sanctuary, and it uh highlights the of regular cleansing, ritual cleansing, and uh restoration of God's house, which is actually resolved in Leviticus chapter 16 on the Day of Atonement. And so before that resolution dilution happens, God gives certain laws, clean and unclean laws, to address how purity can be maintained and defilement can
be prevented. So this have been one of the most difficult passages that had to go through, but yeah, the Lord gave grace, um. So the this in chapters 11 till 15, the we see the Levitical ritual purity laws, and this laws no longer apply to the church. Every dimension of this Levitical laws has been, especially this ceremonial ritual laws have been fulfilled and transformed in Christ. Yet beneath these purity laws lies profound theological significance, that is Israel's worship system instructs us that God is holy and unapproachable
by any human system. Even the Israelites who possess covenant access could only, could not simply walk into the presence of a perfectly holy God as and when they like. This laws revealed to them that meticulous attention to cleanness and holiness was required before they can approach the presence of a holy God.
In Leviticus chapters 11 till 15, these five chapters contain a comprehensive system of laws regarding ritual and ceremonial uncleanness along with detailed instructions for restoration and cleanliness. And the following, you know, that we see that in chapters 11, 12 and 15 we see a kind of a high level or a overview of what's God has written in these chapters. Well, firstly we see in chapter 11 the food laws. This chapter presents a detailed classifications, distinct, distinguishing between clean and unclean animals, clean which can be eaten, unclean which may not be eaten. And the summary verse in captures the purpose, that is in Leviticus chapter 11 verse 47. It says that “to make a distinction between the clean and the unclean, and between the living creatures that may be eaten and the living
creatures that may not be eaten.” Clean animals: cattle, sheep, goats, fish with fins and scales, certain birds, some insects and locusts. It doesn't make sense to us, right? But unclean animals include pigs, camels, shellfish, vultures and bats. A common thread running through the unclean category appears to be an association with death, its symbols. And in chapter 12 we see the laws about childbirth, and this chapter provides instructions for ritual cleansings following childbirth. And a woman was considered unclean for a set of period after giving birth and was excluded from touching anything holy or even entering the sanctuary. And significantly, provision was made
for them later to enter God's presence. And we see in Leviticus chapter 12 verse 8, “If she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtle doves or two pigeons. One for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering.” And this is what Mary, the mother of the Lord, brought in Luke chapter 2.
Joseph, you know, they presented the infant Jesus at the at the temple, and Luke's way of demonstrating this is that these people, Mary and Joseph, were a law observing family living in humble circumstances. And thirdly, we see in chapters 13 till 14, uh, laws about skin diseases. Now these two chapters contain extensive legislation concerning infectious skin diseases, particularly leprosy. And in chapter 13, it covers diagnostic procedures and implications for a person's ritual status before God.
An afflicted person or infected person was declared unclean and required to live outside the camp. You know, we read in Leviticus chapter 13 verses 45 to 46 that “the leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean.' He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.” And you see that in the story of King Uzziah. Now, who was a good king for most of his life, was later affected
by leprosy because of a sin, and he was put outside the camp. He lived alone, probably died there. And yeah, so chapter 14 outlines the elaborate procedure for a recovered person to be declared clean and restored to the community. And finally, in chapter 15, there are the laws about bodily discharges. This chapter establishes laws concerning with various bodily discharge for both men and women that rendered a person ritually unclean. And these covered emissions of various kinds and menstrual blood and other abnormal discharges. And we see the summary statement in Leviticus chapter 15 verses 32 to 33. It says that “this is the
law for him who has a discharge and for him who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean thereby; also for her who is unwell with her menstrual impurity, that is for anyone male or female who has a discharge, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.” Okay, what shall we do with these now?
The Levitical purity system establishes four distinct categories that structure Israel's worship unto God. Number one is holy. The holy realm contains things specifically consecrated and set apart to Lord's service. It includes things like tabernacle, its furnishings, priests, sacrifices offered there. A holy item must remain dedicated to God's worship and cannot be used for ordinary purposes, regular purposes. To take something holy and use it for common purposes, it means to profane it.
It is like reducing its sacred status to ordinary. And secondly, the common. The common realm encompasses everything not specifically consecrated to God's service. Common things are not inherently sinful or impure. They simply exist in the ordinary sphere of daily life rather than the sacred sphere of worship. And thirdly, clean and unclean. And within the common realm, there are two subcategories, that is clean and unclean. To be clean means one is ritually pure and is qualified to approach God's presence. And potentially able to be sanctified and enter the tabernacle.
And to be unclean means one is ritually impure, disqualified from approaching God, and unable to enter the sacred space where God's presence dwells. Why does God declare certain things unclean? We do not know the answer. Scripture does not provide explicit reasons, but nevertheless we must avoid the misunderstanding that uncleanness equals sin. These laws were never intended to produce shame about God-designed bodily functions. God created our bodies. Childbirth is not sinful. Bodily, other body functions are not sinful. All of it reflects God's design, and the point of these laws is not that God is offended by normal human biology. A woman's
menstrual cycle is not a moral failure requiring forgiveness. It renders one only ritually unclean. And one of the most striking aspects of these chapters is that people could, through no fault of their own — for example, you're walking by and a pig touches you, you're ritually unclean. So you haven't done anything for that. But yeah, but ritual uncleanness in chapters 11 till 15 must not be equated simply with sin. The textual distinction is very clear in, uh, Leviticus chapter 4 to 5, and especially in chapter 4 verse 20 we see offerings, we see sin offerings: “And the priest shall make atonement for
them and they shall be forgiven so these are sin offerings and in 11 till 15, there are offerings for uncleanness. And in chapter 12, verse 8, and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean. And in 1431, priest shall make atonement before the Lord for him who is being cleansed. You see the distinction? in chapter 4 verse 20 the offerings forgive them right and in 12 and 14 we see that there because of these offerings they are made clean that's a distinction so the language shifts from forgiveness to cleansing in these two places that's a crucial theological distinction so while revealing the loss
graciously provided solutions. After various forms of uncleanness, provisions existed for restoration, washing, waiting, and offering sacrifices. These provisions, they revealed God's desire for his people to draw near to him. And the laws existed not only to keep people away permanently, but to make a way for them to come closer. And every cleansing ritual proclaimed one thing. There is a path back into God's presence. The purity laws were his gracious instructions in maintaining that privileged relationship with God. Yet, there is a deeper point here.
The physical uncleanness that came from touching a dead body or contracting a skin disease served as a parable, a living illustration of the moral uncleanness that exists in every human heart. And if you observe the later prophets, they consistently employed this Levitical purity language to describe moral and spiritual condition. For example, you look at Psalm 106 verse 39. The psalmist says, “Thus they have become unclean by their acts and played the whore in their deeds.” Here the psalmist is not talking about ritual uncleanness, but is employing those terminologies and talking about their sinful deeds.
And secondly, Isaiah, even Isaiah employs the same word. “Woe to me, for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips.” Again, he uses this ritual language to show that he is truly unclean from inside when he has witnessed the glory of the Lord. And in Isaiah chapter 64 verse 6, again he employs this ritual unclean terminology and shows that that people are sinful before God. He says that “we have all become like one who is unclean.” The word for unclean here is actually the cloth used for the woman in the menstrual cycle. He says that “we have all become
like one who’s unclean,” which means ritually unclean actually, but he’s applying it to our sins. And he says that “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” Later Jesus exposed the Pharisees’ fundamental error, their obsession with ritual cleanliness while neglecting justice and mercy. He taught that true defilement comes from the heart. The Pharisees were concerned about ritual purity, but Jesus came to expose the hearts of the people. In Matthew chapter 15, verses 18 till 20, Jesus said, “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. And for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed
hands does not defile anyone.” Eating with unwashed hands can make you sick, but will not make you sinful. And the word defilement here is a Levitical terminology. No, true defilement is in internal. No, I used to have a friend, I think he’s still my friend, I haven’t met him for a long time. So that guy used to not shower for days and he wouldn’t wash his hands before you eat, and whenever I questioned him, he said that, he quoted this verse, and I would tell him that brother, he’s talking about something else. So yeah, so eating with dirty hands, defense, makes you sick but
not sinful. So the word defilement here is a Levitical terminology. Talking about the inner defilement. Evil proceeding from sinful hearts. Sexual immorality, theft, murder, deceit, pride. These are the issues of the heart. And no amount of ceremonial washing or animal sacrifices could cleanse these things. I think I mentioned before that, no, once there was a time when I was, no, very young — I’m still young, but very young — and I, I was backslidden. And in that backslidden state, I went to a meeting in the church and I heard the word preached and I was so convicted.
I was so guilty of all my sins. I was already baptized. So I came back home and I thought like my prayer wouldn’t be enough. I went into the washroom, filled the bucket, poured water on myself. Thought that, you know, no amount of, no, all these cleansings, you know, that the ceremonial cleansings or whatever cleanses will not wash the hearts of people. So, and a faithful Israelite who is hearing these words would have grasped the depth and the power of his own sin. He could not escape sin any more than he could escape the natural rhythms of his body that would make him ceremonially unclean.
He would therefore embrace every reason to bring a lamb to the temple, place it in the hands of the priest and confess, “I am a sinner. I present this sacrifice to our holy God who alone can atone for my transgressions.” We are often tempted to underestimate the power of sin. We are often tempted to underestimate our own sins. We reduce sin to some discrete acts like lying, gossiping, viewing something obscene. Yes, there are sins, but sin is far more pervasive and devastating. The entire creation is plunged into a state of sin, infects every fiber of our existence. It resides at core of every human heart, and it should compel us and to cry along with Paul, “Wretched, wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this
body of death?” Sin makes us wretched in the eyes of a holy God. Any sin. When God looks at us, he looks past our deeds, a smile’s under hypocrisy, he looks straight into hearts, and it is sinful to his eyes, it is detestable to his eyes. Sin makes us wretched in the eyes of the holy God. If sin is marinated into our lives and our every the fiber of our existence, the question is then, who can deliver us? Only the maker of heaven and earth can make a provision for our condition. Hebrews chapter 9 verses 11 till 14 shows
us that “when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, he entered once for all into the holy places, not means of blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, the securing and eternal redemption.” The purity laws in Leviticus chapter 11 till 15 reveal essential truths. That is, God is utterly holy and pure.
Number two, we are unclean and unable to make ourselves fit for his presence. Number three, we desperately need cleansing that animal sacrifices could only illustrate but never fully provide cleansing. More importantly, these laws point to Jesus Christ, the one who touches the unclean and makes them clean, who takes our impurity upon himself and gives us his righteousness, who offered himself as a final sacrifice, purifying us once for all. And Jesus’ death accomplished more than bearing our punishment. It sanctified us, making us actually pure. As John says in 1 John 1:7, “the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin.” And the, and in the New Testament, the great council in Acts chapter 15, we read especially in verses 10 and
19 you know that the council decided not to burden the converted Gentiles with keeping the this ritual laws, whereas the dietary laws had distinguished Jews from Gentiles, but we see here that they were abolished and their abolition signifies that the dividing wall has been demolished as Paul illustrates in Ephesians chapter 2. And then later in Galatians also he says that now all, both Jews and Gentiles, free and slave, male and female, are one in Christ Jesus. And through Christ’s cleansing work, believers now have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. The barrier is removed.
Clean and unclean, Jew and Gentile, male and female, all can approach God through faith in Jesus Christ. Though we are no longer under the ritual purity laws of Leviticus, the call to holiness remains the same. God has not changed. His standard is not lowered. He is still absolutely holy and he still calls his people to be holy. God had already saved Israel from Egypt and promised to dwell among them. The purity laws were his gracious instructions in maintaining that privileged relationship, as we read in Leviticus chapter 4, 11 verse 45, “For I am the Lord who brought you up out of land. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” God is holy. There is no one
like him. He alone is God. There is no other creature or being like him. He alone is God, and he alone deserves to be worshipped. There is no other creature or being who deserves to be worshipped alongside this holy God. He alone is God. And when he calls out a people for himself, he is calling them to be his people exclusively. He is setting them apart for his own glory and his purposes. They are set apart for his own glory. Interestingly, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, apostle Peter quoted Leviticus directly and applies to the life of the church, to the people
in the new covenant he says in first peter chapter 1 verses 15 to 16. as he who called you is holy you all should be holy in all your conduct since it is written you shall be holy for I am holy how does this holiness manifest according to Peter what does it mean for that we must read this verse in its context in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 13 Peter says therefore preparing your being sober minded set your hopefully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of christ jesus you know at the revelation of christ jesus this is the this is the primary goal of all christians the coming of our lord jesus christ the
revelation of Christ Jesus at the end. And and when and even John talks about that in 1 John chapter 3 verse 2, and there’s a time when we will see him as he is and we’ll be like him. All Christians are heading towards that destination, that we’ll be conformed into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Regardless of circumstances in this world, God is preparing his church to reach this goal, to receive our inheritance along with all his saints. And the goal is that we will be like him. We will receive grace at the revelation of Jesus Christ, that grace which we haven’t
yet experienced. Which will be only revealed to us. At the coming of Lord Jesus Christ. And from the later portions of the scriptures. We can understand that. We will be transformed. Completely. Into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this goal. That we will be like our Lord. Should shape our lives. Ambitions. Desires. And priorities in this world. In this side of eternity.
our ambition is not to make money. Yes we need money, but we need not gain money, we should not gain money through ungodly means, because our goal is not to become rich. Our goal is to become like Jesus. So I say no, by the grace of God I say no to every sinful and evil in that is good in uh God’s sight, and my purpose in this world is to please God. And how do we please God and be conformed to the likeness of Jesus? In other words, how can we be a holy people in this world, because we worship a holy God? How
can we be a holy people in this world? Not just by attending a church service, but that holiness demonstrates how we live. How do we please God? Firstly, through obedience. Peter in chapter 1 verse 14, he says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.” We must now live our entire Christian lives by obeying God’s word. We have no alternative. We cannot follow the desires of our flesh. We cannot follow the desires of our sinful nature or of this world’s patterns. We obey, we obey God because we belong to God, because God has called us to be holy
we keep his commandment, all his commandments, by refusing conformity to the former passions, and secondly by imitating God. Formerly our ignorant passions dictated our behavior. We did whatever we wanted. We did whatever our sinful nature prompted us to do. Now our standard is not our former ignorance. Now our standard is God himself. We no longer walk in our old way of life. God’s standard for us is revealed in the scriptures. We choose instead to walk in conformity to God by obeying his word.
And secondly. Through reverential fear. Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 17, “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.” A day is coming when God will judge us. We must give an account of how we lived here. We may deceive people around us, but we cannot deceive God.
God observes everything. And this fear of God’s judgment should motivate us to live properly. We must constantly remember that God will judge us according to our deeds, the way we live. Just as an electrician, for example, never forgets that he works with something that can kill it, the Christian must never forget that he or she will be judged. How does the electrician live in fear? He never forgets the basic principles of electricity and his relationship to them.
He never imagines that he can ignore electrical safety rules. How does a Christian live in fear? In much the same manner. We live in fear by remembering who our God is. Our God is a God who judges us, will not ignore sin. We live in fear by remembering who God is, who we are, and the foundational principles of our faith.
Thirdly, we live here through gratitude for our redemption. Peter says, 1 Peter 1:18–19, “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.” Even Peter employs Levitical terminologies and applies to the life of the church. We must recognize the cost of our redemption.
God paid an immeasurable price to redeem us. We all deserve death. God’s justice requires just punishment. Nothing else could have saved us from God’s wrath. He paved the only way for our salvation. And according to God’s plan, Jesus is the exclusive way. Jesus had to enter the world, be born of a virgin, take upon himself a human nature, live as a man, and lead a perfectly righteous life, and he had to become the unblemished, spotless lamb offered for our sins, because only he could remove our sins. And this is the cost of redemption. He suffered and died in our place under the anger, wrath of God.
The innocent was sacrificed in the place of guilty. He died for us and He rose again. And through Him, we become believers in God. And Peter urges us to consider the cost of our redemption and the love of God in planning that redemption. So this will motivate us to pursue holiness out of gratitude. The way we live in this world as holy people is by obedience, and is by knowing who God is, and living in fear, and also remembering the cost of redemption and living our lives with gratitude.
There is a dual dimension here in the passage that Peter talks. Holiness is not optional. It must become the very fabric of our existence. It possesses both vertical and horizontal dimensions. We obey all of the scriptures which God has given us. That is the disposition, that should be the disposition of our heart. That is vertical. And this obedience as a horizontal expression as well. Look at 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 22, he says that, “Having purified your souls by our obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” Dear brothers and sisters, I want to impress this upon your hearts again and again.
Again, our obedience to God, his truth, should manifest in our horizontal relationships. This is also his. Holiness is not living in isolation. Holiness is living in community of God’s people. Holiness is growing together with God’s people. We are commanded to love our fellow believers because we are being born again. We are to love earnestly, and our best efforts must be invested in loving our fellow brothers. If we rarely fellowship with other believers, if we avoid certain people, or if we keep polluting the minds of people through gossip and judgment, we are not fulfilling this commandment.
Brothers, take this into consideration. If we are avoiding people because they are not like us, because they don’t love the things that I love, whatever things, they don’t look like the way we look, and and if you keep polluting the minds of the people through gossip and judgment, we are trespassing this commandment. We are not living as God’s people, and we should fear God’s judgment because God will judges. Love demands contact with real people. We are not merely to love earnestly, but we also, but also we are to love from a pure heart. The pure heart is a heart continually cleansed by the blood of Jesus and
by being obedient to God’s Word. This means we love not to receive something in return — that is worldly love — but because our very nature has changed through the preaching of the gospel, the living and the abiding Word of God, as Peter calls it here. Because we have been born again by the Word of God, by the gospel, we are now able to love earnestly from a pure heart. And be was honestly assess our own hearts. Are we doing this? Are we striving to love the people of God who do not deserve our love, but love them from a sincere pure hearts? And if you are
unable to do that, are you taking that incapability to the cross of Jesus Christ so that God can enable you by His grace and by His fruit to love His people? This is a context of holiness in which Peter extends that Levitical command to be holy as his people. Are you pursuing holiness? And this is a mark of a believer. This shows whether you are a believer or not, whether you are set apart for God or not. There is no middle ground. The same God who said to the ancient Israel, “Be holy for I am holy,” now invites us into the holiness through faith. His
Son, and to live according to his word. In closing, I want to give few practical considerations. Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 1 — he uses again Levitical terminologies here — he says, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, holiness to completion, in fear of God.” In fear of God we must grow in holiness. And again in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19 to 20, it says, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a, bought with a price, so glorify God in your body.” We are called, if you are, if you believe
in the gospel, you are set apart by God for his glorious purposes, and you and I, we all together must glorify God. Here are some practical steps towards holiness. The first thing that you need to do after believing the gospel is join a gospel-preaching, Bible-believing church. Become a committed member a church. Be part of one local church which preaches the gospel, which has, which believes in the Bible. Holiness has a corporate dimension. We cannot live in isolation. We cannot live by hopping churches. We have to be committed to a church and holding, and the Christian life cannot be lived as we like. This
is instruction God designed for his people, that we be part of the church, grow with them. Secondly, cultivate discipling relationships within your church. Have meaningful relationships with the church. What do you mean by that? Meet regularly to read God’s word together. Not to discuss politics, not to discuss sports, your favorite food or stuff like that. You can do that, but the primary content of your meeting should be sounded, you know, it should be around the word, around Christ Jesus. We must meet regularly to read God’s Word, pray together and encourage one another in faith. Thirdly, learn to study the Bible properly. Examine your own
life. How long you’ve been Christian? How can, how good are you with the word? How easily can you get to the point of the text? Have you learned that skill of and applying that word to your life? And I tell you that even after being so many years as a Christian, many believers do not know how to read the word. They do not make efforts to learn.
Learn to study the Bible well, that’s the key for our growth. Develop skills in sound biblical interpretation and application. Fourthly, examine your life continually in light of Scripture. Actively put sin to death. Do not tolerate it. “If your right eye causes you sin, tear it out,” Lord says, “throw it away.” Deal with your sin. Do not tolerate sin.
Sin will destroy you. Do not pamper sin. Do not feed sin. Put to death. Put to death. And fifthly, live an exemplary life for God’s glory. Live as his witnesses. Be a faithful witness. Live for his glory. Your children, your friends, your colleagues are not merely hearing your words. They are observing your life. Be careful how you’re living in a watching world. Though the call to holiness echoes from Sinai through the ages to a present moment, God has not changed his standard, but he has provided the means through Christ finished work. Now by the power of the Holy Spirit we pursue that holiness without which
we will not see the Lord. And we can also be confident at the same time, because he who had begun a good work in us will bring it to completion at the j— at the day of Jesus Christ. There is an obligation on us that we need to pursue holiness. That is a mark of a believer, that you pursue holiness, that you move in that direction. Though that, though that path is weak, but you are on that path. You fall, you rise up, you look to cross, you look to Christ Jesus for grace and you move forward. You obey everything that God says in the
scriptures. Nothing is optional. Everything applies to us and we live to live by his word. We move in that direction. That is the mark of a believer. If you’re not on that path, you just think that you said a prayer and you are a believer, you are deceiving yourselves. You are not a believer if you’re not on that path of holiness. And it is a call now to repent and believe in the gospel and surrender your life to a Lord Jesus Christ. Dear brothers and sisters, this is how we should live as holy people of God. Let’s pray.