Bearing False Witness is More Than We Think
by John Rogers
God is holy and he desires that his chosen race, his priesthood, his nation, and his people be holy too. This is the point of the book of Leviticus–“You shall be holy for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44). God wants his people to be holy because God’s people are a revelatory people, meaning they exist to reveal God not only to each other as the people of God, but also to the people without God in the world. So should anyone fail to be holy, ignore God’s commands, or take his commands lightly, they should expect God’s judgment, either on themselves or on the sacrifices they offer.
This is because, essentially, they are bearing false witness about the Lord. They are bearing false witness because in the diminishing of their set-apartness, they are diminishing God’s set-apartness to a watching world. The result of this is that the Lord, who is holy, is not being exalted among the nations as he should be, as he desires to be, and he is being portrayed as no different than the false gods of the pagans.
So when Nadab and Abihu offered strange, or we could say, “any ole fire” to the Lord, “God answered their false fire with the real fire of his holy anger,” writes Christopher J. H. Wright. He did this because he wasn’t being treated as holy before the people. And he did this because Nadab and Abihu did not, as Paul House writes, “guard the people’s perception of Yahweh’s holiness.” Moses said to Aaron in verse three, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified [or I must be treated as holy (NEB)].”
1 Peter 2:9-10 says that we, as believers in Christ, “are [too] a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, [in order that we, like the Israelites] may proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light. And while it is true that lightning will probably not strike us dead if we happen to act contrary to our holy identity, we are still God’s revelatory people. Therefore, we must not tell lies. We must be holy as he is holy. Wright says, “The closer a person is to God, the more careful they need to be about his holiness. Otherwise, they bring dishonour on God among the rest of the people. [For] it is bad enough to treat the things of God with contempt oneself; it is far worse to cause others to do so.”
These articles follow our church-wide reading plan. To read with us, click here.
This is because, essentially, they are bearing false witness about the Lord. They are bearing false witness because in the diminishing of their set-apartness, they are diminishing God’s set-apartness to a watching world. The result of this is that the Lord, who is holy, is not being exalted among the nations as he should be, as he desires to be, and he is being portrayed as no different than the false gods of the pagans.
So when Nadab and Abihu offered strange, or we could say, “any ole fire” to the Lord, “God answered their false fire with the real fire of his holy anger,” writes Christopher J. H. Wright. He did this because he wasn’t being treated as holy before the people. And he did this because Nadab and Abihu did not, as Paul House writes, “guard the people’s perception of Yahweh’s holiness.” Moses said to Aaron in verse three, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified [or I must be treated as holy (NEB)].”
1 Peter 2:9-10 says that we, as believers in Christ, “are [too] a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, [in order that we, like the Israelites] may proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light. And while it is true that lightning will probably not strike us dead if we happen to act contrary to our holy identity, we are still God’s revelatory people. Therefore, we must not tell lies. We must be holy as he is holy. Wright says, “The closer a person is to God, the more careful they need to be about his holiness. Otherwise, they bring dishonour on God among the rest of the people. [For] it is bad enough to treat the things of God with contempt oneself; it is far worse to cause others to do so.”
These articles follow our church-wide reading plan. To read with us, click here.
More from the blog:
A Lesson from Two Rich Men
December 1st, 2025
Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” is undoubtedly the most iconic Christmasstory; aside from the literal birth of Jesus, of course. It’s a story very much influenced by itstime period. Dickens wrote it in the London of the mid-1800s, with all of its social inequalityand child labor firmly intact. The infamous protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, is a metaphor forthe greed of Victorian society. He’s a ...
Hold Up. Don't Fold Up.
November 24th, 2025
In the context of our passage, James is writing to people who are suffering. Some are being defrauded by their employers, who are withholding their daily wages. This meant that they could not provide food for their families. James assures them that while they're suffering now, he encourages them to be patient and wait for the Lord's return, and He will straighten out the situation. I admit that wh...
Surviving Trials is Not the Goal
November 17th, 2025
I have never been a good test taker. The absolute dread that overtakes my entire mind and body before a test is overwhelming. The first test I ever took in college resulted in a grade of 48 (yes, out of 100). I panicked. I sat in my chair and sweated through a shirt, my mind went blank, and I made up most of the answers. Unfortunately, the tests continued throughout college. They were guaranteed. ...
Recent
Archive
2025
February
March
April
September
October
November
December
2024
March
April
September
October
2023
April
May
July
August
October
No Comments