We strive to maintain the very highest levels of understanding in our study of the scriptures. We are constantly looking at things from new viewpoints trying to get every last ounce of truth from God’s word. This is a good thing of course! However, it is also important from time to time to cover the basics again and to remember the key points of the entire exercise of Christianity. We also have a changing audience that must be taught the foundation of their faith so that they can make it their own. Let’s start by asking a seemingly simple question. What is the reason God gave us the Bible? What is the intention of the scriptures? I think we can find an answer in Romans 3:23.

Rom 3:23

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

As humans in our relationship with our God and creator, we obviously have a problem. Each of us at some point chooses to commit sin. God of course is perfect, without sin or fault. He therefore cannot be associated or in contact with a sinful creature. Since He loves us, He wants very much to have a close relationship with each of us. What can God do and what can we do to make this happen?

Gen 3:6-10

6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make {one} wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. 8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."

Here we see man commit the very first sin and we see the result of sin. Were Adam and Eve ashamed because they were physically naked? Perhaps. I think the more important lesson here is the fact that they committed a sin and they realized that God would know what they had done. Of this they were ashamed! They tried to cover themselves and hide themselves from God, but it was useless. They knew He could see right through them. We each come to this same point in our lives one day. Each person comes to this realization at a different age and for different reasons maybe. The fact remains that at some time, we all come to realize that we have sinned. We realize that God sees our sin and we are ashamed. It is at this point that something must be done to bring us back into a relationship with God. How can we fix this shameful situation? How can our conscience be clean before our God?

Exod 29:10-14

10 "Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. 11 "You shall slaughter the bull before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 12 "You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put {it} on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. 13 "You shall take all the fat that covers the entrails and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and offer them up in smoke on the altar. 14 "But the flesh of the bull and its hide and its refuse, you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

God requires a sacrifice to cover our sins as we see from this text. Hebrews 9:22 says “And according to the Law, {one may} almost {say} all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”. There can be no forgiveness unless a sacrifice is made and blood is shed!

SACRIFICE, PARTS V-VI

The blood consecrated the altar, the life was given as atonement for sins, the fat parts were burned upon the altar as food for God, and the flesh and remainder were burned without the camp (verses 13,14). This is a sin offering-- chaTTa'th-- the first time the term is used. Probably introduced by Moses, it was intended to be piacular (atoning – JL) and to "cover" possible sin.

Chota'ah, chatta'th: a "sin offering," a special kind, first mentioned in the Mosaic legislation. It is essentially expiatory, intended to restore covenant relations with the Deity. The special features were: (1) the blood must be sprinkled before the sanctuary, put upon the horns of the altar of incense and poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering; (2) the flesh was holy, not to be touched by worshipper, but eaten by the priest only. The special ritual of the Day of Atonement centers around the sin offering.

(from International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (C) 1996 by Biblesoft)

Lev 17:11

"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 by reason of the life that makes atonement.'

We can see here the importance of the sacrifice and of the blood that is shed. The life is said to be in the blood. In other words, a life must be given to atone for another. However, we can see in the old Law system of animal sacrifices that complete forgiveness could not be offered.

Heb 10:1-9

1 For the Law, since it has {only} a shadow of the good things to come {and} not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3 But in those {sacrifices} there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, "SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; 6 IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND {sacrifices} FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. 7 "THEN I SAID, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD."' 8 After saying above, "SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND {sacrifices} FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE {in them} " (which are offered according to the Law), 9 then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

We can see where the anguish of the old Jew comes from. A Jew who’s heart was right with God knew that he could never draw near to him because his sins were still remembered. So, now that man has learned of his sin, he earnestly desires for full atonement. What could God do to save mankind? What sacrifice could be good enough to remove sin forever and bring man back into a relationship with his creator? Our sacrifice is prophesied of in Isaiah.

Isa 53:1-12

1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no {stately} form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely our griefs He himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being {fell} upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke {was due?} 9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. 10 But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting {Him} to grief; if He would render himself {as} a guilt offering, He will see {His} offspring, He will prolong {His} days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. 11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see {it and} be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

Remember some of the wording here in this text and how it relates to the old animal sacrifices. Verse 10 says He is a “guilt offering” and vs. 12 says that “He poured out Himself to death”. Remember how the blood of the sin offering was poured out at the base of the altar? Now let’s finish the thought of the Hebrew writer from chapter 10.

Heb 10:10-22

10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, 16 "THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM," {He then says} 17 "AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE." 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer {any} offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since {we have} a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled {clean} from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Verse 14 says His ONE offering perfects for all time those who are sanctified! Vs. 17 says He will remember our lawless deeds, or sins, no more. When our sins are not remembered, there no longer a need for an offering for sins (vs. 18). Verses 19-22 sum up the sacrifice of Christ in it’s contrast with the old system of animal sacrifices. Christ now is our high priest. He has “sprinkled us with His blood” if we are in Him. We now can draw near to God “in full assurance of faith”. This is what the righteous Jew longed for and what we now enjoy today!

1 Pet 1:18-23

18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, {the blood} of Christ. 20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, {that is} through the living and enduring word of God.

If we are born again (vs. 23) then we have been redeemed with precious blood, the blood of Christ. It is our covering for sin once for all which could not be offered under the old covenant.

So, what is our part in this new covenant with God? How can we obtain the blessings of the sacrifice that Christ made for us?

I Jn 3:4-5

4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

Christ appeared to take away sins. If we are “in Him”, then we have no sin. How do we get to be “in Him”? We touched on this subject a couple of weeks ago in the lesson on baptism. The way into God’s kingdom is by birth. Our birth comes in our baptism into Jesus Christ. We are then united with Him in His death (the sacrifice He made for us) and also in His resurrection and life. We are now “in Him”!

I Jn 1:7

7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Again, we see from this passage that as long as we continue in our walk as Christians, the blood of Jesus remains our covering for sin. His sacrifice and blood are valid for all time.

When we become Christians through baptism, we enter God’s eternal kingdom and also into that new covenantal relationship with Him. Something we do here to signify this is to partake of the communion supper the first day of each week as we are instructed to do by the scriptures. You may wonder what the significance of this feast really is… is it simply to remember the death of Jesus on the cross? I think we’ll see that it is much more than that!

Matt 26:27-28

27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave {it} to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

Jesus offers the disciples His blood to drink in symbolic form. When we do this each week, we are also partaking of the symbolic blood of Christ. What exactly does it symbolize then? Verse 28 says that it is the “blood of the covenant”. It is Christ’s blood which ratifies our covenant with God. This blood of which we partake was “poured out” by Christ as the blood of the bull was poured out at the base of the altar. However, His blood was for “forgiveness of sins”, not a temporary covering.

John 6:53-56

53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

We also remember that the life is in the blood of the sacrifice. Unless we partake of this Passover feast, we have “no life in ourselves”. Is this feast still necessary today? It absolutely is!

As we close, let’s remember the story that we began in Genesis. Adam and Eve sinned and were naked before God. Let’s now read…

Rev 7:13-14

13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?" 14 I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

When we are baptized and become Christians, we receive a covering for sin. We “wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb”. We are no longer naked before God. We no longer are ashamed of our sin. God does not remember our sin and we are able to abide with Him in a spiritual nature. When Christ looks at us, He sees Jesus Christ and the blood of His sacrifice. This is the point of the exercise of Christianity! The Bible was written so that we may see the way to accomplish this purpose! We’ll have Jesus Himself make the invitation this morning.

Rev 22:14-17

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. 16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." 17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.