What New Testament teachings align with the holiness described in Exodus 30:35? The Old Testament Picture: Holy Incense • Exodus 30:35 commands a carefully blended, salted incense that is “pure and holy.” • Only priests could handle it, and any attempt to copy it for common use was punishable by death (Exodus 30:37-38). • The scene shouts two truths: God deserves a unique, undefiled fragrance, and whatever is offered to Him must be set apart from ordinary life. Christ Fulfills the Fragrance • Ephesians 5:2 — “Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.” • 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 — We are the “sweet aroma of Christ” that God spreads through the world. • Hebrews 10:10 — Through the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus “we have been sanctified.” • The incense points ahead to Jesus’ perfect, exclusive sacrifice; He alone satisfies the Father’s sense of holiness. Our Calling to Fragrant Holiness • Romans 12:1 — Offer your bodies “as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” • 1 Peter 1:15-16 — “Be holy, because I am holy.” • 1 Peter 2:5 — We are a “holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.” • 2 Timothy 2:21 — Cleanse yourself so you become “a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master.” • Hebrews 12:14 — “Pursue … holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” • The New Testament treats every believer as a priest whose daily life must emit the same set-apart aroma that the tabernacle incense once symbolized. The Role of Salt in New-Covenant Life • Exodus 30:35 includes salt; in Scripture, salt preserves, purifies, and flavors. • Mark 9:49-50 — “Everyone will be salted with fire … Have salt among yourselves.” Trials refine us the way salt preserved the incense. • Matthew 5:13 — “You are the salt of the earth.” Our distinct lives keep the world from moral decay. • Colossians 4:6 — Speech should be “seasoned with salt,” pure and gracious. • Salted incense foreshadows a believer’s steadfast, uncompromised witness. The Exclusive Recipe: No Imitations Allowed • Exodus 30:37-38 forbids duplicating the incense for personal enjoyment. • Galatians 1:6-9 warns against “another gospel.” • 2 Corinthians 6:17 — “Come out from among them and be separate.” • The Lord still rejects any hybrid spirituality; New-Testament holiness keeps worship and lifestyle free from worldly mimicry. The Heavenly Incense: Prayer of the Saints • Revelation 8:3-4 — Incense rises with “the prayers of the saints.” • Our petitions, made holy by Christ’s intercession, continue the fragrant ministry begun in Exodus. Summary: The New Testament echoes Exodus 30:35 by declaring that Christ is the true fragrant offering and believers, made holy in Him, must live salted, set-apart lives that spread His unique aroma to God and the world. |
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