GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
One Place to Worship
By Jim Murriner
Leviticus 17:1-9
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, "
"Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them: This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, saying,"
"What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp,"
"And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord; blood shall be imputed unto that man; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:"
"To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the Lord."
"And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the Lord."
"And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. this shall be a statue for ever unto them throughout their generations."
"And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojurn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice, "
"And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the Lord; even that man shall be cut off from among his people."
I have preached on this subject before and have mentioned the doctrines which we will look at today, many times in the past, however today, I want us to notice that God has a place that those who are saved are to serve Him, and that He has always had a place for those whom He has saved to serve Him.
There has never been a time since God saved the first man and woman in the garden of Eden, that God has permitted people to worship Him in their own way.
First: People served God in the family unit.
God created both male and female, that they might multiply, but He did not leave them to mate, and then go their separate ways. He made them a family unit.
Gen. 2: 20 - 24
These first two people sinned, God covered their sin by the shedding of blood of an animal, which I believe was a sheep.
Gen. 3:21
They had taught their sons to serve God & sacrafice unto Him.
Gen. 4: 3 - 4
Abraham understood the need for families to worship God, and sacrafice unto Him.
Gen. 14: 17 - 18
Now here in our text today God is making it very clear that even though the service unto God is the same, as it had previously been, and this service, the sacrafice of animals, had the same meaning as it previously had, in that it pointed forward to the sacrafice of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the Cross in payment for our sins.
There is now a difference made in that there is now only one place where the sacrafice in service to God, and in pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ is to be done.
All other places are wrong, and make the one bringing the sacrafice or doing the sacrificing, to be worthy of death just as if they had killed a human being.
Leviticus 17:4
This place and way of doing service unto God continued until the time that the Temple was built in the time of King Solomon. Even then the temple was much like the tabernacle, and this was the place which people were to take their sacrafice and offer it.
Now in our time, the time ever since Christ was here on earth, and started His church, there is indeed a new way of doing service unto God.
Eph. 3:21
While Eph. 3:21 tells us how to give Glory unto God, this is not the place in the Bible that the Church became the way to serve God.
A. The church was started by Christ Himself, with the Apostles being the first. members.
I Cor. 12:28 (and God still sets people in the Church today as it pleases Him.)
The Apostles and all others who become members of the Lord’s church do so by baptism.(which must be preceded by God having given saving faith unto the one being baptized)
I Cor. 12:13
The Apostles were required to have John’s baptism.
Acts 1:22
B. The word "Church" means a called out assembly.
Luke 12:13
A little while later after Jesus had named His apostles he spoke of the church continuing to be built.
Matt. 16:18 (will build) The Greek word which is here translated (will build) has a future tense with an active voice and an indicative mood.
The fact that the word used here was (future active indicative) shows us that it points to activity presently happening.
The church had already begun, and our Lord was building upon it and is still building upon it today.
C. Then on the day of Pentecost we find that the church was accredited .
Acts 2:1-11
Much of the book of Hebrews is about the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings being done away with and the church being the new way to serve the Lord, who is the one that the sacrifices were all about.
Heb. 10:1-9
D. But there is a problem in our day.
There are many today, who call themselves the Lord’s church, and yet they were started by some man, or some board of missions.
These do not claim their history goes all the way back to Christ , and John’s baptism.
It is not in those churches nor the Protestant churches nor the Catholic Church which we must give glory unto God through.
We must give glory unto God in and through His church, the one which He started while still here on earth, prior to His crucifixion.
This is the same church which existed during the dark ages, and still exists today.