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WAY TO WHOLENESS, THE
The book of Leviticus speaks to us in our brokenness and shows us how we can become holy, whole, and complete.
- GenresReligion
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
13 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Ray C. Stedman
154 books34 followersRaymond Charles Stedman was an evangelical Christian pastor and author. He was a long-time pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, and author of several books.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 28, 2014
I love Ray Stedman's writings/teachings. I find him to be very solid and very easy to understand and read. I was introduced to him first when I was doing an in-depth study of Job. And now I have read his thoughts on the book of Leviticus. That's also what I love about him, he makes studying obscure books like Job and Leviticus enjoyable, delightful even!
My home church was studying the book of Leviticus and to aide me in my personal studies of it I found this book. I'm SO glad I did. I am of the opinion that some of the books of the Bible need some supplemental commentary in order for any kind of understanding to come out of them! Leviticus is one of those books. Most people dread Leviticus but I loved studying it with the help of Stedman's book. He adds such beautiful insight and application. He brings to life what God is asking us to do and why. We started studying Leviticus in March (2014) and while we aren't done yet I decided to go ahead and finish the book and then continue to use it as we finished studying the book. I can't stand the thought that I have been reading a book since March! Of course I haven't been actively reading it, I have been reading it along with each chapter we are looking into in Leviticus and the summer saw us taking lots of breaks etc.
I love this book. LOVE IT. Just as Stedman did with Job, he has done with Leviticus. He brought it to life and to relevancy in my life. He has a gift for pulling out the lessons God has for us, the modern day believer, within the sometimes very confusing and vague passages of the Old Testament. The Old Testament is neglected by the modern day believer and that is a shame for it lays the foundation for the New Testament. The New Testament doesn't make sense without the Old. Why and for what Jesus walked this earth for 34 years doesn't make sense without first the Old Testament. Being reminded that Jesus was an observant Jewish man is good for the modern day believer who has somehow decided Jesus was a rebel against his own culture and people. He fulfills not abolishes and the Old Testament shows us how.
I highlighted the majority of the book. It is filled with such rich and applicable insights into this oft dreaded book. It made me appreciate the book of Leviticus and the Old Testament even more than I already do. It exposes how detailed God is, how thoughtful he is, how forward thinking and planning he is.
"The key to Leviticus is found in a single verse located near the center of the book. All of the secrets of the book are unlocked by Leviticus 20:26, 'You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.'" (page 10-11) "You'll see that these ceremonies, sacrifices, and restrictions form intricately articulated relationships that reveal the plan of God for our lives." (page 10)
My home church was studying the book of Leviticus and to aide me in my personal studies of it I found this book. I'm SO glad I did. I am of the opinion that some of the books of the Bible need some supplemental commentary in order for any kind of understanding to come out of them! Leviticus is one of those books. Most people dread Leviticus but I loved studying it with the help of Stedman's book. He adds such beautiful insight and application. He brings to life what God is asking us to do and why. We started studying Leviticus in March (2014) and while we aren't done yet I decided to go ahead and finish the book and then continue to use it as we finished studying the book. I can't stand the thought that I have been reading a book since March! Of course I haven't been actively reading it, I have been reading it along with each chapter we are looking into in Leviticus and the summer saw us taking lots of breaks etc.
I love this book. LOVE IT. Just as Stedman did with Job, he has done with Leviticus. He brought it to life and to relevancy in my life. He has a gift for pulling out the lessons God has for us, the modern day believer, within the sometimes very confusing and vague passages of the Old Testament. The Old Testament is neglected by the modern day believer and that is a shame for it lays the foundation for the New Testament. The New Testament doesn't make sense without the Old. Why and for what Jesus walked this earth for 34 years doesn't make sense without first the Old Testament. Being reminded that Jesus was an observant Jewish man is good for the modern day believer who has somehow decided Jesus was a rebel against his own culture and people. He fulfills not abolishes and the Old Testament shows us how.
I highlighted the majority of the book. It is filled with such rich and applicable insights into this oft dreaded book. It made me appreciate the book of Leviticus and the Old Testament even more than I already do. It exposes how detailed God is, how thoughtful he is, how forward thinking and planning he is.
"The key to Leviticus is found in a single verse located near the center of the book. All of the secrets of the book are unlocked by Leviticus 20:26, 'You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.'" (page 10-11) "You'll see that these ceremonies, sacrifices, and restrictions form intricately articulated relationships that reveal the plan of God for our lives." (page 10)
August 9, 2013
THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS THAT I HAVE EVER READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get goose bumps thinking about how this book completely opened my eyes to so many things in the book of Leviticus that I was not even aware of. This is one of the remarkable things about reading The Bible; you always learn something new about God's Love for you. If you are open to the new experiences that come from reading The Bible it can absolutely be a enlightening and life changing. The author Ray Stedman made this book easy to read and understand; he made the book of Leviticus come alive. I have always found this book of The Bible to be difficult to read and understand. He literally put everything on the bottom shelf for me. I came away with a different perspective of this book. The main thing that I look for in books that are written from a Christian perspective are an explanation of how this can be used to reach others. I also like to see how it is that The Bible has changed someone for the better. There were some great things that were approached in this book. Here are some that really spoke to me:
"Christians can and do sin. Many people seem to forget this obvious fact, and they expect instant perfection from Christians at the moment of their conversion. That's simply not possible. We need help in dealing with the sin problem. The flesh needs to be recognized and controlled-and that isn't easy".
"Being a believer doesn't mean I have to crucify my intellect. It means that I can search out the truth about life more honestly, deeply, and clearly than ever before!"
He fashioned this particular study around the verse in Leviticus 20:26; "You are holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own".
This was a great book because it challenge my to look at myself an let me know that I have to be ever vigilant about my study of The Bible. I loved it because it challenge me to look at myself and to work on the things that I need to change and look to The Bible as my source for this foundation. It is a ever growing process to study. To have a better understanding of the world around us.
This is one of the reasons why I love to read; it helps you grow.
Excellent book 5+++++ stars.
"Christians can and do sin. Many people seem to forget this obvious fact, and they expect instant perfection from Christians at the moment of their conversion. That's simply not possible. We need help in dealing with the sin problem. The flesh needs to be recognized and controlled-and that isn't easy".
"Being a believer doesn't mean I have to crucify my intellect. It means that I can search out the truth about life more honestly, deeply, and clearly than ever before!"
He fashioned this particular study around the verse in Leviticus 20:26; "You are holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own".
This was a great book because it challenge my to look at myself an let me know that I have to be ever vigilant about my study of The Bible. I loved it because it challenge me to look at myself and to work on the things that I need to change and look to The Bible as my source for this foundation. It is a ever growing process to study. To have a better understanding of the world around us.
This is one of the reasons why I love to read; it helps you grow.
Excellent book 5+++++ stars.
May 9, 2011
Ever think Leviticus was dull? Well I don't anymore. God is Holy and we are to be holy.
March 3, 2021
Balanced
A very excellent study on the book of Leviticus. The book of Leviticus can become tedious and boring. This book can bring those boring verses to light and help illuminate the heart as to what God is saying.
A very excellent study on the book of Leviticus. The book of Leviticus can become tedious and boring. This book can bring those boring verses to light and help illuminate the heart as to what God is saying.
June 13, 2008
Ray Stedman passed away but his beautiful book lives on. A real meal of a book.
November 5, 2009
Fantastic book. Discusses the human condition and God's provision to mend that which is broken!
February 19, 2022
Yeah I've had enough of this.
I had prepared to write a fair and balanced review of this book, intending on saying that I learned something from this, despite knowing that it has flaws and issues with reality. In a way, I did, but now I'm taking off the gloves and being real with this review.
The moment I knew we had a problem was when Stedman basically said that even though disabled people are loved by god, that those with physical challenges or defects can't do ministry. Something about damaged male parts and I flew into a very righteous rage. This is complete stupidity and insinuates that people who have no disability are better than those with disabilities, that anyone with any kind of disability can't do ministry because of some false connection between a dangling sausage and performing ministerial tasks.
How ableist of you!
And then of course we also get to see Stedman's homophobia, loud and clear. Again, Stedman shows his lack of understanding of basic, human sexuality, willfully forgetting that homosexuality was VASTLY different back in Bible times, but this idiocy goes even deeper, fully knowing that the English translation is imperfect - "Man shall not lie with man" was meant to be read as not participating in paedophilia. Not same-sex, loving male relationships at all.
I can't ethically recommend this book because it contains very harmful lies which greatly harms both the disabled community and LGBT+ community, of which I am a member of both. (Developmental disability, albeit a high-functioning disabled male, and a loud and proud gay man).
Please, don't read this book.
**Attack me and trust me, I will attack back**
I had prepared to write a fair and balanced review of this book, intending on saying that I learned something from this, despite knowing that it has flaws and issues with reality. In a way, I did, but now I'm taking off the gloves and being real with this review.
The moment I knew we had a problem was when Stedman basically said that even though disabled people are loved by god, that those with physical challenges or defects can't do ministry. Something about damaged male parts and I flew into a very righteous rage. This is complete stupidity and insinuates that people who have no disability are better than those with disabilities, that anyone with any kind of disability can't do ministry because of some false connection between a dangling sausage and performing ministerial tasks.
How ableist of you!
And then of course we also get to see Stedman's homophobia, loud and clear. Again, Stedman shows his lack of understanding of basic, human sexuality, willfully forgetting that homosexuality was VASTLY different back in Bible times, but this idiocy goes even deeper, fully knowing that the English translation is imperfect - "Man shall not lie with man" was meant to be read as not participating in paedophilia. Not same-sex, loving male relationships at all.
I can't ethically recommend this book because it contains very harmful lies which greatly harms both the disabled community and LGBT+ community, of which I am a member of both. (Developmental disability, albeit a high-functioning disabled male, and a loud and proud gay man).
Please, don't read this book.
**Attack me and trust me, I will attack back**
November 17, 2021
It took me 6 months to read this book because there was so much information to digest. I struggled reading Leviticus and said so to my pastor. He lent me this book and I will be forever grateful! There are so many interesting and soul-filling things to learn. Ray Stedman did a beautiful job clarifying what I once thought was a painful-to-read book of the Bible.
July 3, 2019
I struggled before with reading Leviticus, this book helped me enjoy and want to read Leviticus again
March 4, 2020
Stedman is gold. I read everything of his I can get my hands on.
February 24, 2022
The author never disappoints in his commentaries. Leviticus is a difficult book, but with this commentary, the journey is much easier.
March 26, 2014
Loved this book
October 23, 2015
Information was very good but took me a long time to get through it
January 30, 2019
Very intense but good read on the book of Leviticus.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews