United Church of God

Living an Unleavened Life

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Living an Unleavened Life

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Living an Unleavened Life

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Foundational to a life in Christ is to remember what God did for us while we were still in our sins.

Sermon Notes

I have come to believe that we cannot properly review our commitment to faith without remembering the foundational purpose of Passover…

Rom 5:5  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which was given to us.
Rom 5:6  For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom 5:7  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
Rom 5:8  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This act of sacrifice was not made to embarrass us or condemn us (for we were already condemned). It was not to humiliate us or look down on us. This act of sacrifice was to simply make possible our journey from ignorance to knowledge, from slavery to freedom.

This focus is on God, not us. It is foundational to reflect the power of God to save not just the firstborn, but all…

For instance, this is even shown in relationship to the very first Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread. Let’s turn to Exodus…

Exo 12:23  For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.

Exo 12:29  And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.

It’s easy for us to recall the powerful act of God to show mercy on all the firstborn of Israel, but we must remember that was not the end of God’s act of salvation, for on the First Day of Unleavened bread the entire nation, firstborn or not, exited Egypt with a high hand…

Psa 78:50  He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague,
Psa 78:51  And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
Psa 78:52  But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
Psa 78:53  And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

You and I, we are the first in the realm of flawed mankind conceived of the Holy Spirit. Our lives are to be a light to this dark world as both an example and a witness. We being the first of mankind to receive this favor from God understand the sacrifice of Jesus to save us. And, because we’ve been given this understanding, with the weight of God’s grace clear in our minds, we strive to live godly lives with God’s Helper being our strength. We were saved from the plague, delivered through a process out of bondage, and have become the children of God.

But there remains a whole world, billions of people, for whom that sacrifice of Christ is also already accomplished. They, too, will experience a time, just like the whole nation of Israel did, when they will be led out of the sins of this world by a great Shepherd into the same salvation as the firstborn who went before them, they seeing on record our example of godliness and the witness of what God can do with flawed people in a corrupt society ruled by Satan. The LORD has used God’s followers throughout history, no matter the climate, circumstances, advancements, technologies, or level of morality, to prove God’s saving power to weak flesh.

As I said already, our lives are to be an example and witness of godliness, and Jesus, on the night He introduced the symbols of the bread and wine, also gave us a very clear directive for what is godliness when he washed His disciples’ feet and instructed they should do the same for each other.

Joh 13:12  So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?
Joh 13:13  You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.
Joh 13:14  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
Joh 13:15  For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

Jesus introduced the washing of feet, a practice not found in the Old Covenant Passover, and this action He provided to both explain the foundation for his sacrifice, which was to serve. Washing feet was done by servants, and only the feet were washed because they were dirty. Nobody had washed anybody’s feet as they entered the room. Instead of any disciples wondering how they might serve one another, they had been arguing just before as to who should be in charge later on.

It is imperative, before  even realizing our obligations and commitments to God and each other, IT IS IMPERATIVE that we understand, first, what God has done for us without our help. Just as The firstborn of Israel were without hope if they did not follow God’s instruction, and just as the whole of Israel was without hope to escape slavery in Egypt without God’s mighty hand to save, we, too, were nothing other than without hope.

The foundation of our relationship with God, what ALL our commitment to God is laid upon, is not our commitment to God but God’s commitment to us. If we don’t establish this fact we will have much greater trouble understanding the love of God and how to reflect it through the heart of service.

Jesus died on behalf of our corrupt nature before He clearly revealed to us our corrupt nature.

Rom 5:8  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

So, for us to truly live an unleavened life, we must first clearly understand, foundationally, remembering this before every single godly action we take, that we started out doing nothing for God while God did everything for us.

With this foundation of understanding, not JUST something we learn first before we learn anything else, but ALSO we must STAND every action on that foundation as a part of our present state of mind. Let us daily remember what God did for us in our ignorance, remembering that with every godly act. May God grant us a truly unleavened life in Christ.