Exodus 27:1-21

Pastor Dave explained that the layout of the tabernacle was not arbitrary; it was a prophetic description of God’s plan of salvation. He illustrated several types of wrong thinking about salvation by showing reconfigured layouts of the tabernacle. Who makes the errors Dave described?

• A person who has a vague, generic understanding of who God is and what He’s like. He views God as the benevolent “big man upstairs,” not as the holy, and wholly “other,” King of the universe.
• A person who thinks she’s not a sinner or, at least, no worse than anyone else. She sees herself as a “good person,” above average; therefore, sin is not a problem. She wrongly assumes that God grades on a curve.
• A person who believes he can make up for his sins and make himself holy by “works” – by his upstanding behavior and good deeds. He grossly over-estimates himself; he is, in fact, impotent to save himself.
• A person who is so open-minded and tolerant that she believes all religions are equally valid paths to God. She doesn’t realize that she is contradicting what God clearly says in His word and therefore showing grave disrespect for God.
• A person who is content with a “ticket to heaven.” He is ignorant of God’s desire for deep fellowship with His children in their lives here on earth.

Do any of these descriptions remind you of people in your life? Pray for them, asking the Lord to open their blind spiritual eyes. Pray for opportunities to speak truth and for words to say. As He answers that prayer, keep the tabernacle – God’s illustration of the one-and-only way of salvation – in mind.

Sunday might have been a divine appointment for some. Perhaps God used Dave’s words to hold up a mirror to them, revealing their wrong thinking about salvation. Pray that the feeling of conviction would not be passing but would lead them to pray, search the Bible, and talk to someone.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert
Calvary Community Church of Brea

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