We're going to read verses 1-7, Leviticus 10 beginning at verse 1. Hear the Word of God. Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, this is what the Lord spoke, saying, by those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy, and before all the people, I must be glorified. So Aaron held his peace. Then Moses called Mishael, and Elzaphan the sons of Uzziel, the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, Do not uncover your heads, nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you, and they did according to the word of Moses. Let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, we come before the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us. We pray that the Holy Spirit would guide us in all truth and enable us to test ourselves according to your word. We pray that you, our triune God, would be glorified in the reading of Scripture today, in the hearing of the Word, and in our response to the Word. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Ecclesiastes 7.29 states, Since the creation and fall of man, man was not and is not content with the knowledge he has from God. But rather, man turns from what God has revealed, often thinks he knows better than God, and therefore seeks out ways to be happier, other ways to satisfy his desires, and other ways to please God. Man seeks new ways to go about things even though God has clearly revealed otherwise. Our passage for today deals with worship. And everything I just stated about man is true regarding how we worship God. Because of our sinful nature, man invents and devises ways to approach God that are nowhere commanded in Scripture. I believe that God gave us this account of Nadab and Abihu, not only to increase or magnify His glory and His holiness, but to teach generation after generation of people including us, to take heed, to pay attention to the seriousness with which God views how we worship him. This is no light matter. That is obvious as we see what happened to these sons of Aaron as they approached God in a way that was not commanded, in a way that was not authorized. We at Grace Baptist, according to the scriptures, confess that the acceptable way to worship God is instituted by Himself, and it is so limited by His own revealed will that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men. That's our theme today, our main point. under the title Acceptable Worship. We will spend half our time with the passage in general, including background and understanding what happened, and half the time with many points of application from this serious, God-glorifying passage. In the Old Testament, to teach his people about his own honor and holiness and glory, God established a system of worship. There were many specifics and commands and ceremonies that were to be precisely followed. And he ordained that there would be priests to minister at the tabernacle and make atonement for the people through many types and shadows. Everything was laid out in an orderly way and the instructions were detailed. The priests back then, they had the responsibility to see these things through and to carry out God's instructions that he laid out through Moses. God said in the book of Exodus that he would consecrate and set apart Aaron and his sons for the priesthood. Now that comes true as we get to Leviticus chapter eight. At the beginning of chapter eight, we're told that the Lord spoke to Moses, take Aaron and his sons with him and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as a sin offering, two rams and a basket of unleavened bread and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Moses then washed Aaron and his sons with water, clothed them with the necessary garments, and set them apart, anointed them as priests of Almighty God. Moses gave them instructions concerning the sacrifices and the offerings. And we read at the end of chapter eight, we read at the end of chapter eight, beginning at verse 35, Moses said to Aaron and his sons, Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you may not die. For so I have been commanded. So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses. They did everything they were supposed to do. And the beginning of chapter 9 describes the eighth day the ministry begins. Aaron is high priest and his sons serve along with him. On that eighth day, Moses instructed Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel to present offerings to the Lord, offerings without blemish. the sin offering, the burnt offering, the wave offering, peace offerings, sprinkling the blood as the Lord commanded. They followed all the instructions. The end of chapter 9, verses 22 through 24 says this, Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. The fire came from God and consumed the sacrifices. Fire came down and did that, showing His pleasure with their worship. The fire showing His approval and acceptance of this newly instituted priesthood. All of this, the consecration of the priests, the pleasing sacrifices, the Lord's approval, all comes to a sudden stop, as we read these words in Leviticus 10.1. Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. Nadab and Abihu, worshipped God in a way He had not commanded. This is certainly not the first time man worshipped God in the wrong way. This has been happening since the creation and fall of man. Early as Genesis chapter 4, Cain offered unacceptable worship. Genesis 4-5, but God did not respect Cain and his offering. But here in Leviticus 10 this is a very significant time in Israel's history. God set apart men to be priests and through them established a system of pure worship to the glory of His name. Things had to be done according to His directions and commands. And it is no different today. Although we do not worship with those ceremonial laws, the principle is the same. God is a God of order, and He reveals to us how He is to be worshiped. And we saw how serious of a sin it is to worship God in another way. Leviticus 10 too, so fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. The phrase fire went out from the Lord in 10.2 is the exact Hebrew words as in 9.24, fire came out from before the Lord. The first time was a fire of blessing. You see at the end of chapter nine, a fire of approval. This time, a fire of judgment. What was their sin? The Bible says they offered profane fire. The Westminster Dictionary defines profane as that which is not holy or sacred. More strongly, that which is blasphemous and treats the sacred with contempt. That is what they offered to God, profane fire. Other translations say unauthorized fire or strange fire. And I'll be using these terms interchangeably today, all referring to the same thing. But why was it profane and strange? The answer is given in verse one. They offered something that God did not command. What were the particulars? What did they do specifically? Well, the Bible doesn't tell us the details. There have been many speculations and ideas. Some say they burned incense and offered fire at the wrong time of the day. Many commentators say they got the fire from the wrong place, not from the altar. So Leviticus 16.3 says, a fire shall always be burning on the altar. It shall never go out. It's suggested that they use some common fire instead of using the fire from the altar. Some believe that it was only Aaron who was to perform these things on this serious day of inauguration. For it was Aaron who killed, you can look through chapter nine, it was him who killed all the sacrifices through there and his sons were to attend him. Most commentators believe a contributing factor to their carelessness was because they were intoxicated or drunk. Though we can't be certain of that, we believe this is likely because of the instruction God gave directly to Aaron immediately after this event. You see verses 8 through 10. Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations that you may distinguish between holy and unholy and between clean and unclean. Although drunkenness may have played a role And although any of the particulars just mentioned of how this strange fire was carried out are possible, the main idea we want to highlight today is that they offered something to God in worship that He did not command. They came to God with their own wills and desires. Some call this will worship. Will-worship is worshiping God according to your will and your desire. It is worship men choose for themselves as if it is their option to do so. The idea behind the phrase will-worship comes from Colossians 2.23 In the context of the Apostle Paul writing about commandments and doctrines of men, he writes in Colossians 2.23, these things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion. The ESV says self-made religion. And the King James uses the phrase will worship. However good their intentions may have been, Nadab and Abihu were not allowed to add or to take away from God's commands. And that's something that's made very clear in the scriptures even before this event in Leviticus 10 and after. one of which is Deuteronomy 12, 32. The context is worship and God said, Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it. For the sons of Aaron, the punishment God dished out was death. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. What about Aaron? Could you imagine what would be going through his mind? God killed his two oldest sons. They didn't even have time to repent or cry out to God and say, have mercy on us. He took their lives on the spot. God chose no favoritism because of man's status. These two sons were at the top of the ladder, exalted priests of God, sons of Aaron, nephews of Moses. They were even named in Exodus 24 when God called Moses and Aaron and 70 elders to himself. God said to Moses, come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and 70 of the elders of Israel. Nevertheless, God used these two sons of Aaron to teach the people back then and to teach us a very important lesson. He is not to be trifled with. You might remember in 2 Samuel 6, Uzzah reached out his hand and touched the sacred ark that was not to be touched, but only to be carried with poles. Uzzah touched the ark to hold it because the oxen stumbled. God struck him dead right beside the ark. God is serious about how He is worshiped and how He is approached. Calvin wrote, if we reflect how holy a thing God's worship is, the enormity of the punishment will by no means offend us. It is meant for us to see the seriousness of all this. Moses did not come to Aaron as we would expect someone to go to someone who just lost his two sons. I'm sorry, Aaron. I'm sorry for your loss. Aaron, I can't imagine what you're going through. But rather Moses said, Aaron, Aaron, listen to what the Lord said. You see verse three. And Moses said to Aaron, this is what the Lord spoke saying, by those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy. And before all the people, I must be glorified. Jeremiah Burroughs wrote a book titled Gospel Worship. I commend it to you. He wrote nearly 300 pages concerning one verse, Leviticus 10.3. I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me. Burroughs wrote, Moses came and spoke comfortably to Aaron and labored to support his spirit. How did he do it? He did not come as you ordinarily used to visit your brethren. Oh, you must be content with this. No, he came and applied the word of God and showed how God must be sanctified or regarded as holy. And by that he came to quiet the heart of his brother Aaron. This is that which the Lord has spoken, Moses said. He sought to stay the heart of his brother with that which God spoke. Moses used God's words to remind Aaron that God's holiness and the people showing reverence to him in worship is much more important than even the lives of his sons. For his sons came with profane fire. If God had let that slide, If God would have let that continue with false worship during this special time of inauguration of the priesthood, they might have set the whole wall aside. Therefore Moses told Aaron, God said, by those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy. Burroughs wrote, it's as if Moses had said, Aaron, though I confess that the hand of God is heavy upon you this day, yet it is fitting for you to submit to God. It is fitting that God should be glorified, whatever becomes of you. You are dear to God, that God's name is dearer to him than you are. Whatever the lives of your sons were, Yet it is fitting that God should be honored and his name sanctified. Whatever becomes of your sons or your comforts, therefore let your heart be quieted. What was Aaron's response? Look at the end of verse three. So Aaron held his peace. He did not murmur. He did not complain. Maybe Aaron was silent partly because of his sorrow. Maybe Aaron was silent in part because he felt blamed for his lack of control of his sons. But primarily, Aaron held his peace to acknowledge God's justice. Aaron did not argue with God and he did not speak against Moses. His sons deserved to die and Aaron knew it, hard as it was. Aaron held his peace, as if to say, the Lord has done what is right. He submitted to the will of God in and through this heavy and sad providence. God responds and corrects sin as he pleases. During those times we must not charge God with unrighteousness or blame Him, but rather accept the discipline and just punishment for sin, as Eli did regarding his sons. That was similar to Aaron's situation. The Lord said that Eli's sons made themselves vile and did not restrain themselves. Samuel told Eli all that God had said, that Eli's house will be judged because of this evil. And Eli's response is found in 1 Samuel 3, 18. It is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him. In effect, that was Aaron's response. not mere silence, but affirming in his heart. It is pointed out that the word translated held his peace has more meaning than just silence. I read that the Hebrew language has another word to signify just mere silence of speech, but this word used at the end of Leviticus 10.3 signifies a staying of it, a staying of the motions of the heart. He truly affirmed God's justice in this. Now what? The bodies of his sons, they lay there. near the altar. Priests could not go near dead bodies, especially, because they would be defiled, especially not the high priest. Sometimes other priests could bury near kin, but in this case it was not allowed. Instead of Aaron's other sons burying the dead, the task was given to Aaron's cousins, Michiel and Ilsiphan. See beginning of verse 4. We notice that this fire of judgment that killed the sons of Aaron was not ordinary fire. for their bodies were not burned up, and neither were their clothes." The Bible says their bodies were carried out by their tunics. It was a special divine fire. They died from the fire, but they still had bodies and clothes. The orders were to carry them out of the camp. They were not even allowed to mourn their deaths. In verse 6, Moses told Aaron and Aaron's remaining two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die and wrath come upon all the people. These were signs of mourning. They were not to show any outward expressions of grief or sorrow, no signs of it. The Lord commanded that the priests, Aaron and his remaining sons, stay focused on their ordained ministry. They had to continue the work in the tabernacle. If they disobeyed, they would die and wrath come upon all the people. Now he does say in the text, he did allow the people to mourn, maybe as a warning and reminder to the people to not forget. wrath. The people were to mourn, not so much the death of Aaron's sons, but mourn God's judgment of sin. And all the while, Aaron and his two remaining sons were not to go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting lest they die. They were not to abandon the work of the sanctuary. What does all this that happened well over 3,000 years ago have to do with us? I submit to you that the lesson from our passage has much to do with us. I want to now spend the rest of our time applying this passage to our own lives, considering application to our worship here at Grace Baptist, and praising our Lord Jesus Christ for His priestly work on our behalf. We begin with this. Number one, God must be worshipped according to scripture. The principle that was true in Leviticus 10 is true for us today. God spoke through Moses and gave them instruction. The same goes for our worship under the new covenant. God has spoken in his word and the words of God are necessary in order to worship God as he has commanded. And we call this the regulative principle of worship. Many of you know what this principle of worship is. Some of you have heard the term, maybe not quite sure, haven't been exposed to it enough to grasp it. Well, our confession does a great job of defining this for us. I'm going to read from our confession, chapter 22, paragraph 1. You may look in the back of the Trinity Hymnal, the top of page 682, it is there. It's also printed in the bulletin. Chapter 22, paragraph 1. The light of nature shows that there is a God who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is just, good, and does good to all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served with all the heart and all the soul and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. That describes the regulative principle of worship, that our worship must be regulated by the word of God. We do understand that some circumstances related to worship may be ordered, as our confession states in chapter one, may be ordered by the light of nature, Christian prudence, and according to the general rules of scripture, For instance, we can decide between pews and chairs, the color of the wall, the size of the pulpit, what time we meet together. We can determine where to park, and we can determine the temperature in the building. But when it comes to the actual worship of God, Jeremiah Baruch is spot on when he wrote, if you do not have some warrant from the word of God, it is superstition. We must come freely to worship God, but we must not worship God according to our own wills. Whether under the Old Testament or under the New Testament, man was not and is not free to worship God however he pleases. This is the answer to anyone who asks the question about our worship here at Grace. Why do you worship the way you do? The reason we worship as we do is because we see it in Scripture. In worship, we read the Holy Scriptures. We preach because we see it in the Scriptures to do so. We pray because we see it as part of worship in the Word of God. We sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs because it says so in the Word. Congregational singing. We practice baptism in the Lord's Supper. because it is commanded by Him. Number two, and related to that, just because something is not expressly forbidden in Scripture does not mean we are welcome to insert the practice in our worship. To do so, that would be what we call the normative principle of worship. The normative principle of worship can be defined like this. Anything not forbidden in scripture can be used in corporate worship. That is wrong. Let's use our text in Leviticus 10 as an example. If Nadab and Abihu used common fire instead of the fire from the altar, it would not work for them to argue that God never prohibited common fire. It would not work for Nadab and Abihu to argue that God never explicitly said you may not use common fire. Or that He said you may not use any other fire. But it was sufficient and enough that God told them what fire to use and how to use it. It was directly from God that they were supposed to use fire from the altar that burned 24-7. In the same way, it is not enough for us to say, it's okay to worship God the way we do because He has not specifically told us we cannot. No, that would be the normative principle of worship. And many churches practice that today and for various reasons. Some with real intentions that they are pleasing God. Others for the reason of pleasing people and drawing crowds. and others simply to stir the emotions of the people. Examples are plentiful. God did not forbid me to use live animals here while I'm preaching as props. God did not forbid us to include drama and movie clips and special music or a light show to attract attention. God did not forbid us to fill in the blank. I heard R.C. Sproul speak of the most successful worship service ever recorded in the Bible. He said it is found in the Old Testament and he described it like this, broke attendance records, and the singing was so full of gusto that when the voices of the singers was heard miles away on a mountain, one of the men who heard the celebration of this singing thought a war had broken out, thought that the noise he was hearing was the tumult that accompanies battle. But when he took time to investigate it, it was not a war. It was a worship service with a golden calf. Nothing attracts crowds greater than the practices of idolatry. Likewise, Aaron's sons devised a different and new way to worship, to improve on what they had done, to improve on what God commanded them to do, but their way, their way, just like the golden calf seen in Exodus 32, was profane, strange, and unauthorized. Matthew's quote of Isaiah in Matthew 15, 8 and 9 describes all this. and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." We do not determine how to worship God based on what's pleasing to the people. We do not determine how to worship God based on what we think visitors might like. Rather, our worship must be regulated by Scripture. Number three, this act of judgment in Leviticus chapter 10 should cause our hearts to desire to worship Him with fear and reverence and obedience to His Word. Do not look at this passage and say, oh, this is just another one of those extreme Old Testament passages. No, this is the Word of God. and it is relevant to us for our own souls and for God's glory. He killed Nadab and Abihu and had their bodies carried outside the camp for all to see and for all to be warned, including us, that God does not put up with will worship. God will not be worshiped in ways that man made up. This text is for us to set our minds and hearts to only worship God as he has declared in his word. Consider Aaron. He realized that God's worship was more important than the lives of his children who offered profane fire. That is how serious worship is. Aaron held his peace. because God must be regarded as holy and glorified at all costs. God told them, carry them out of the camp. Aaron's sons sinned publicly and shamefully, so the Lord punished them publicly to vindicate His name in the same way He did with Ananias and Sapphira. In Acts chapter 5, they were killed for lying to the Holy Spirit. God judged them immediately. so that, as the Bible says, great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. The lesson from Nadab and Abihu should have caused great fear upon all of Israel. The death of these two should have caused all future generations, including ours, to fear God and regard Him as holy, to pause and think, before they offer any kind of false worship. And number four, consider God's mercy. Be thankful that God withholds His wrath concerning our own sin during worship. Be thankful for His mercy that He has spared us from immediate judgment. Burroughs writes, You see how severe God was to Nadab and Abihu for just taking other fire than that which God had appointed. Though there was no direct command against it. If the Lord has spared you and not manifested any displeasure upon you, you have cause to acknowledge God's mercy and be humbled for all your false worship. Have you ever worshipped God in a way that's not prescribed by scripture? I have, and I'm quite certain everyone here has. Especially if we look at the heart of the matter, right? Have you worshipped God with covetousness in your heart? Anger? What about physically gathering for worship, but inside we're somewhere else? Is that real worship? Who of us is not guilty of that? It is profane actions before the Lord to worship Him with our lips and actions, but at the same time being concerned about what duties we have to do tomorrow morning. There are so many ways in which we bring unauthorized worship to God, bringing things to worship that He has not commanded. Let us beware of our own strange fire. Number five. We should prepare our hearts for worship. Moses told Aaron that the Lord said, by those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy. Here's something practical that all of us can do on any given Lord's Day morning. Consider the attributes of God. Find in scripture where God's character is described and meditate on that before worship. Our confession is a big help in chapter 2 of God and the Holy Trinity. Read that section before worship. You will be reading that God is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute, most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Do you see that considering and meditating on the attributes of God would be a help in regarding God as holy as you and I come before Him to seek to worship Him as He commands? And finally, number six. Brethren, through faith in the Son of God, our worship is accepted. by God through the works of Jesus Christ our Lord. Let me say that again. Our worship is accepted by God through the works of Jesus Christ our Lord. Is our worship perfect? Oh no. Oh no. Do not hear me say that I think we worship God without error. Not only should we, as a church, always be willing to change our worship practice if we are convinced to do so by the Word of God, but I firmly believe, with the backing of Scripture, that everything we do in this age is tainted with some stain of sin. Now that is no excuse for improper or sinful worship. yet we can worship God as believers knowing that our worship is accepted in Christ. Relevant to this discussion is our confession statement in chapter 16 of Good Works. Paragraph six states, the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in Him, not as though they were in this life wholly unblameable and unreprovable in God's sight, but that He, looking upon them in His Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections." Isn't it good to know that our worship of God is accepted by and through the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ? Ephesians 1.6, He made us accepted in the below. First Peter 2.5, we are a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. There is no judgment of condemnation for the people of God. Temporary judgment? Yes, sometimes even to death. But we will not have to endure a judgment of condemnation because of our false worship thanks to our High Priest, the Son of God." Did Nadab and Abihu suffer a temporal judgment or eternal judgment? I don't know. God knows. People have their opinions. but we should receive the lessons from this passage and leave to God the things that belong to God. Praise God that our worship is accepted by Him through Christ. Praise God that we do not have to depend on Nadab and Abihu's holiness and perfections as priests and mediators. Praise God our eternal destiny does not depend on Aaron or Moses. We have a perfect high priest as mediator. He is the surety of the new covenant. As Hebrews chapter 7 says, there were many priests because they were prevented by death from continuing. But he, that is Jesus, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore, he is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. God only saves those who come to him through Jesus Christ. If you come on your own, your worship is not accepted. There is no intercession. If any in here are outside of Christ, there awaits much more than a temporary judgment, but an eternal one for everyone not covered by the mediation of our high priest. They will have to answer for their false worship, answer for all deviations to the moral law of God, down to every jot and tittle. For our God is a serious God and demands justice. Do not look at this passage in Leviticus 10 and say, this is another one of those Old Testament passages where God has no mercy and He's strict. He's mean in the old but He lets us slide in the new. No, do not think so lightly of God. He is a consuming fire in the old and He's a consuming fire in the new. But He has mercy in the old and He also has mercy in the new. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is the same God all the way through. He always demands perfection in all things, especially in our worship of Him, and we must find that perfection ultimately in His Son. Brothers and sisters of grace, we come to worship, not with incense, not with fire from an altar, not with robes and breastplates, but we come with nothing in our hands. We come and approach him as he has commanded in spirit and in truth, saved by the blood of our high priest, the son of God. And we gather to worship him covered by the righteousness of Christ. We call on everyone to come to him that way, for that is the only way your worship, our worship will be accepted. Let's pray. Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. We thank you for all of scripture, We thank you for reminding us that you are worthy of true worship. Help us to be true worshipers. Cause our hearts to burn with a desire to come before you with seriousness and to regard you as holy. And most of all, we pray that you accept our worship, not from anything in us. But because we come to you through the works of your Son, Jesus Christ, it's in his name we pray. Amen. So we now continue our worship with the