God's Grace in Restoration

In Leviticus 8 the account of the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood is recorded.

They were set apart. Special garments were placed on Aaron as high priest. Anointed with oil. Animal sacrifices. Blood on the altar. Blood on the right ear lobes, right thumbs and right big toes.

All this was to signify the importance and uniqueness of this ministry.

It's a familiar account.

But this is the same Aaron, who, less than a few months earlier at the foot of the same mountain where this ordination was taking place, made the golden calf (Exodus 32).

He called the people to give him their gold. He fashioned it into a calf and said, "Here are your gods that brought you out of Egypt!"

And now he's being set apart as THE high priest over all of Israel? The primary connection between God and His people was leading them in idolatry a few months earlier?

Really?

What was God thinking? Didn't Aaron need to go through some kind of ministry rehab?

Start him back down at the bottom of the totem pole until he proved himself faithful in small tasks?

I suppose by now, some of you have started to think of a New Testament parallel.

Peter denied that he knew Christ in the hours before the crucifixion.

Not once. But three times.

After the resurrection and before the ascension of Christ, Jesus came to Peter and commanded him, "Feed My sheep."

Not once. But three times.

And we see in Acts, which continues the account less than two months after the crucifixion, that Peter is the leader in the church. 

He's the one who stands up and explains what is happening on the day of Pentecost. 

He's the one who preaches and gets thrown in jail. 

He's the one who heals a lame man. 

He's the one who stands before the Jews and says, "We must obey God rather than man."

Aren't those two men, Aaron and Peter, amazing accounts of God's grace at restoring to ministry?

They still made mistakes after getting back into the saddle. But God didn't leave them on the bleachers because of their horrific sins.

He picked them up and used them for His glory.

And He can do the same with those of us who have fallen. 

"Fallen" is not the end of the story.

An Amazing Church Business Meeting

We've all been to church business meetings. Most are pretty routine. Some seem a bit trivial. Some are historical as major decisions are made. Some are divisive. Some are long.

There's one church business meeting that would have been exciting to attend. It's recorded in Acts 11.

Rumor had it that Peter had gone into the house of a Gentile and this wasn't sitting too well with the Jewish congregation back at home. Something had to be done.

They called him in before the church.

Peter explained how he had seen a vision of a sheet full of unclean animals coming down. Three times it came down and each time with the command to eat. But Peter had been following the Jewish dietary laws all his life. He'd never eaten any of these unclean animals. The voice in the vision said, "What I've called clean, don't call unclean."

Then he recounted how three men knocked at his door and asked him to come to the home of Cornelius. Cornelius had been visited by an angel, who told him to find Peter.

Peter came to the house of this Gentile, who had gathered his entire household to hear what Peter had to say. As Peter explained the gospel, the Holy Spirit came upon them and Peter recognized that it was the same phenomenon that had happened to them in Acts 2.

He concluded his report, "Therefore, if God gave them the same gift that He also gave to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?" (v 17).

God's work was evident and Peter knew there was no reason for him to try to stop it, or to argue with God.

A new era of God's plan had begun.

The next verse reveals the response of the church: "When they heard this they became silent. Then they glorified God, saying 'So God has granted repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles!'" (v 18)

Can you see that happening? As Peter tells his story, the church gets silent, sitting on the edges of their seats. When he reaches the climax, they break out in "Amen!" "Hallelujah!" "Praise the Lord!"

And we can keep praising the Lord today, too. His plan of salvation includes Gentiles - like me.

It wasn't me!

Acts 3 records the healing of a lame beggar by Peter and John in the temple courtyard. An astonished crowd gathers as they see this man instantly walking. No surgery. No physical therapy. What happened?

Peter took advantage of the situation to explain the gospel to this crowd. His introductory statement is revealing:

"Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?" (v 12).

He could have said, "Well, of course, we were able to do this. We were with Jesus for three years. He taught us how to do these miracles. Hang around us and you'll see more!"

But he didn't. He immediately deflected the praise to God.

So often we think that God works through us because we have done something. We've been going to church, praying, reading the Bible, or any number of good things. So it's just obvious that God would use us to accomplish something.

We deserve to be used by God because we've earned it.

That's unbiblical, selfish thinking.

That thinking leads to frustration. When we are doing the right things, but God doesn't use us in the way that we think He should, we get frustrated.

That thinking leads to envy. We're doing the same things that others are doing, but look at how big their church is, look at the people they've led to the Lord, look at the good things they're doing!

We dare not forget that just as salvation is nothing that we have done, so is our sanctification and our ministry. It's all because of God's mercy. He didn't need Peter and John to heal that lame man. He doesn't need you or me to accomplish anything.

If God chooses to do something through me, it's because of His mercy and grace.

It wasn't me.

Two Disciples: The Same, but Different

Peter and Judas had the same religious education. They'd been trained by Jesus Himself. They had heard Him teach. They had seen His miracles. They had taught. They had done miracles.

They both denied Christ.

As the disciples gathered for the last Passover before the crucifixion, Jesus announced that one of them would betray Him. Their collective response was not, "It's got to be Judas!" No one suspected him. He fit right in with the rest of the them.

Jesus told Peter that he would deny his Master three times that night.

As the events unfold, Judas betrays Christ to the priests for 30 pieces of silver. He denied Christ for money. Realizing his wrong, he returned the money and hung himself.

Peter denies Christ three times in the night. He denied Christ for safety. When the rooster crowed, he remembered what Jesus had said about him.

But he didn't hang himself.

In fact, we read in Acts that Peter became the spokesperson for the fledgling church.

What was the difference?

Three times Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" Three times Peter answered in the affirmative (John 21:15-19).

The difference is clear. Judas loved himself. Peter loved Jesus.

Because Judas loved himself, he couldn't live with himself anymore. Guilt and shame had taken over.

Because Peter loved Jesus, he repented. He was guilty and ashamed of his sin, but because his love for Jesus was so great, he was able to take his focus off of himself. Instead of looking at himself and the possible consequences of his sinful choices, Peter chose to look at the Savior whom he loved and who loved Him.

So wallowing in despair over our sinful choices demonstrates that we are focused on ourselves, not on Jesus. We love ourselves more than we love Jesus.

Look to Jesus.