"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15). “He came to be our Savior, our Sacrifice, our Substitute, our Surety, our Head, our Friend, our Lord, our life, our All” - C.H. Spurgeon.
Since the beginning of the Old Testament sacrifices, the atonement for sin could only be satisfied by the substitutionary death and shedding of blood upon the altar by an innocent spotless lamb. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Lev.17:11).
This continuous ritual symbolized the high price for forgiveness, reconciliation, and salvation. “The priest was to slaughter the lamb for the sin offering for the people, he was to sprinkle its blood on the atonement cover and in this way, he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place, whatever the people’s sins had been” (Lev. 16:15).
Unfortunately, man's view of sin has not changed much today. It is often treated with the same casual attitude, leading to a misunderstanding of the destructive nature of sin and the true righteousness of God. Too often, we believe God should lower His standards and want or expect Him to honor our sinful lifestyle, even though it completely contradicts what His word tells us. Scripture states that “God is so holy and righteous that He cannot even look upon evil” (Hab. 1:13). This means God's holy nature promises He will not sanction our sin. However, there is hope. When we look to Jesus Christ, we see God's plan of redemption come to completion. Rather than bringing our righteousness before a Holy God, we can go to Him through the righteousness of Christ.
The Old Testament sacrifices foreshadowed the perfect New Testament sacrifice, the substitutionary death, and the shedding of Jesus' blood, the perfect innocent spotless sacrificial lamb. "In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7). We are redeemed; we are bought back so that we may be set free from the slavery of sin, and we are forgiven. Through the blood of Christ and His death on the Cross, we are freed from the penalty of sin and freed from its enslaving power. In this redemption, we also find ourselves receiving His love and forgiveness. By His grace, this forgiveness means He has given up the right to punish us for our transgressions. Making forgiveness a critical piece to the restoration of our relationship with Him. This benevolent decision to do this for us grew out of God's grace, which He lavishes upon us.
From the beginning, it has been God's will to have a continuous relationship with humanity and to reconcile that relationship for eternity. It has been God’s will "that we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once and for all" (Heb. 10:10). That means there are no more continuous sacrifices. Instead, “we are called by faith to confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. In that we will find forgiveness and salvation” (Rom. 10:9). Do you want to confess that Jesus is Lord and receive the gift of salvation that only He can offer? Take a few moments, repent of your sins, and ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life today.
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