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120_The Lord who sanctifies

Leviticus 20:1-9 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.

6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.

It was a moment that left everyone stunned. A young man stood before a judge in a crowded courtroom, convicted of a brutal crime. The evidence was overwhelming, and the sentence handed down was the maximum under the law. As the judge pronounced the words—life imprisonment without parole—there was a collective hush. Outside, news cameras rolled. Commentators debated whether the punishment was too harsh, while others said it was too lenient. The weight of justice felt tangible that day.

Now imagine if the judge had smiled and said, “You seem like a decent person. Let’s forget about this. You’re free to go.” We would be outraged, wouldn’t we? Something deep within us cries out for justice, for wrongs to be acknowledged, for consequences to matter.

And yet, how often do we question God’s justice? How often do we read passages like Leviticus 20 and recoil at the penalties God demanded in ancient Israel, wondering if they were too extreme?

This chapter in Leviticus offers us a stark window into the holiness of God. In our modern societies, the seriousness of a crime is generally understood by the penalty it carries. For instance, capital punishment is reserved for what we call “the rarest of rare” cases. Even among murderers and rapists, very few face the gallows. But in the theocratic society of Old Testament Israel, the standard was not human opinion but divine holiness. The difference between God’s morality and man’s becomes painfully clear.

Psalm 71:19 says, “Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?” God’s moral standard is not an upgraded version of ours—it’s in a class of its own. The commands and punishments listed in Leviticus 20—concerning child sacrifice, cursing one’s parents, adultery, incest, homosexuality, and more—are seen today, even among believers, as excessive or outdated. But here’s the reality: the disconnect is not that God has changed. Scripture is clear: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The question is not whether God has changed, but whether we’ve lost our sensitivity to sin. The truth is, God sees all sin as deserving of death. That’s the first principle we need to understand. When Adam and Eve ate a piece of fruit against God’s command, it seemed like a small act. But that one act of disobedience brought death into the world—for them and for every human since. Why? Because sin is lawlessness, as 1 John 3:4 reminds us, and “the wages of sin is death.”

There is no such thing as a small sin in God’s eyes. Every sin is a capital offense—not because God is petty, but because He is holy beyond our comprehension. If we accept this, it kills self-righteousness at the root. The scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day prided themselves on avoiding certain sins while despising others who sinned differently. But James 2:10 says, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” So whether our struggle is anger or lust, greed or gossip, we stand equally guilty before a holy God.

Secondly, unlike human law, God’s law doesn’t separate sin and crime. Society may view some acts as “morally wrong” but not criminal. For example, adultery may be frowned upon in some cultures or celebrated in others, but it rarely carries legal consequences. But to God, sin is not merely a private mistake—it’s a rebellion against His authority. The behaviors listed in Leviticus 20 were not even considered wrong by the surrounding nations. Canaanite culture embraced many of them. So the Israelites, living among them, would have been tempted to conform.

Isn’t that true today? If our laws don’t forbid something, we feel freer to indulge. But God’s standards don’t change based on cultural trends or popular opinion. His law is eternal, and His call is clear: “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Thirdly, and perhaps most profoundly, God cannot dwell in the midst of a people who are unclean and rebellious. That is why He says repeatedly in this chapter, “I am the Lord your God.” It’s a covenant declaration. In Exodus 19:5–6, God told Israel, “If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples… and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

Holiness wasn’t an optional add-on for Israel—it was their identity. And it’s ours too, if we belong to Christ.

Some may ask, “If God hasn’t changed, why don’t we see capital punishment for these sins today?” In the New Testament, Israel was no longer a theocracy but lived under Roman rule. They couldn’t legally execute anyone. That’s why the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus—they were testing Him. But Jesus didn’t condone her sin. He told her, “Go and sin no more.” Similarly, when Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit in Acts, they died instantly. God made it clear: sin is serious.

Each time God starts something new—a covenant, a movement, a church—He often begins with a demonstration of His holiness. Think of Sodom and Gomorrah. Think of Uzzah touching the ark. Think of Uzziah the king entering the temple improperly. Or think of Ananias and Sapphira. God sets the standard early, and then shows patience so that many might repent.

But make no mistake—His patience is not permissiveness. Hebrews 10:26–31 warns us soberly: “If we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins… It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” That’s not Old Testament wrath—that’s New Testament reality.

Leviticus 20:8 says, “Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” Sanctification—being made holy—is God’s work in us. It’s not something we achieve through sheer willpower, but it requires our cooperation. We must walk in obedience, not to earn salvation, but as a response to the holiness and love of the One who saved us.

Job asked in Job 14:4, “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.” And yet, through Christ, God answers that question. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

This is our hope. This is the gospel. The Lord who sanctifies is not a distant judge waiting to strike, but a loving Father who disciplines us that we may share in His holiness. He calls us to confess, to repent, and to walk in newness of life—not because He wants to restrict us, but because He wants to dwell among us.

Proverbs 28:13 reminds us: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” God’s call to holiness is not about fear—it’s about love. The more we see the beauty of His holiness, the more we’ll be drawn to leave behind everything that defiles.

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

So today, as you hear these words, don’t harden your heart. Let the Lord who sanctifies draw you closer. Let Him cleanse you, change you, and make you holy—not just in status, but in daily life. For He has not called us to impurity, but to holiness. And He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. God bless.