July 22, 2009

Texts:
Leviticus 17 and 18
Romans 10

Leviticus:
I wish chapter 17 had occurred earlier in the book, because it helped me understand the deal with the blood all over the sacrifices. Life is in the blood. That makes it sacred. So, on one level, it seems sort of weird to use something so sacred in your sacrifices (if it is so sacred, why isn't God vegetarian?). On another level, I get it. The stakes are higher. When you kill an animal and take its life, you better be intentional about it.
What do you think?

In chapter 18, it seems pretty clear that nakedness is frowned upon. But I wonder if the extreme degree of modesty in this chapter has fed into the shame that so many people feel about their bodies? In the garden, Adam and Eve were naked before the fall. There was no rule against nakedness then. Wonder how/if the difference is related to the fall.

And what do you think about the connection the writers make between human sinfulness and the "defilement of the land"? It seems as if our behavior, whether or not the earth is directly impacted, affects the land.

Romans:
This chapter really needs to be read with chapter 11, so keep them in tension. This chapter says that "if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved".
This is important--our lives should have a response to the gift of grace we've been given. But if grace (which makes an appearance in chapter 11) is removed, then salvation becomes about what we do. Notice that Paul says that when you have FAITH in the heart and are JUSTIFIED, and then you confess with your mouth and are saved. So justification (which is God's job, not ours) is what prompts our confession of faith.
We don't confess our faith and then God decides to save us. We confess our faith AFTER God justifies us.

You can totally disagree with me on this. But that's how I read Paul.