JESUS CHRIST, HIS SACRIFICE

THE NECESSITY OF CHRIST'S SACRIFICE: To deal with the problem of sin.

Imagine a little boy who has had a good time playing in a mud puddle. When he arrives home and walks into the living room on his mother's new white carpet, she is horrified. She loves the child but not the mud. Immediately she springs into action. First, a good bath for the boy to remove the mud, then a set of clean clothes. Now he is acceptable in her living room.

Notice, the mother did not merely extract a promise from her son that he would not play in the mud anymore, then permit him to continue squishing around in his muddy shoes. Reformation is not the answer. A thorough cleansing is the minimum remedy.

God loves you! He does not love sin but he loves the sinner. Beginning with Adam and continuing through this day, every person in his natural state is contaminated with sin. Because of his love God has a plan to correct the situation and make sinners acceptable in his sight. It required that Jesus Christ give his life, shed his blood, so that sins might be washed away and even the vilest sinner may be made pure in his sight.

• Sin is serious business.

  The boy playing in the puddle is not particularly conscious of his muddied condition or how his mother will react when she sees him. He is busy having fun. The Bible tells us that natural man is, "...dead in trespasses and sins;". (Ephesians 2:1). A dead person is oblivious to circumstances around him. Natural man is not conscious of the eternal consequences of sin. Because he can enjoy sin without feeling guilty modern man tends to treat sin lightly. "So what? We all do it. We can't help it. Anyway, as long as my sin doesn't hurt anybody else what's the problem?" or, "Sin is like pepper. A little of it spices up life." The problem with this thinking is that we are dealing with comparisons. In our own mind we consider ourselves relatively better than most of our peers. The Bible says, "But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." 2 Corinthians 10:12.

• Sin is abhorrent to God.

  Now try making that same comparison of yourself with God. The scale of reference has suddenly switched from relative to absolute. God is absolutely holy. God is absolutely righteous. Psalm 145:17. Since God is absolutely righteous, any disagreement with or deviation from God's will is un-righteousness -- Sin! With regard to our little story about a child tracking mud onto his mother's carpet, imagine how the absolutely righteous God is revolted by the sight of a person soiling him/herself by rebellion and sin.

• Sin is directly against God.

  We tend to think of sin as minor excusable infractions; disobedient toward parents ("They do not understand."), cheating on income tax ("They are all crooks anyway."), oppressing the defenseless ("He is just a bum. So what if I burned down his cardboard box house?") and so on. The fact is, the God of the universe gave us rules in his Word, and when we commit what we consider small social sins we are in fact rebelling against God and his very serious instructions. Some general examples: Exodus 20:1-17, Matthew 22:36-40.

• Sin separates from God.

  Absolutely righteous God will not tolerate unrighteousness. Isaiah 59:2. God is going to prepare a permanent Heaven which will be marked by his presence. If unrighteousness will not be tolerated in his presence then people who are contaminated with unrighteousness cannot dwell there. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Chapter 21 of the Revelation describes the holy city, the new Jerusalem, and ends with the statement that, "There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth,...". Revelation 21:27.

• Where will unrighteous people spend eternity?

  In the garbage dump of the universe, forever separated from God. The lake of fire. Revelation 20:10-15.

FORESHADOW OF CHRIST'S SACRIFICE: The Old Testament priesthood.

• A priest is one who acts as an intermediary between God and man. Exodus 28:1-3

  Offering sacrifices.

  Burnt sacrifice: Leviticus chapter 1.

  Meal offering: Note! In old English meat was a generic term for food, usually associated with bread. Leviticus chapter 2.

  Peace offering: Leviticus chapter 3.

  Sin offering: Leviticus chapter 4.

  Trespass offering: Leviticus chapter 5.

  Day of Atonement: Exodus 30:10, Leviticus chapter 16, Hebrews 9:1-9.

THE OBJECT OF THE FORESHADOWING:

• Christ, the supreme high priest.

  "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come," Hebrews 9:11-12

  "...That he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." Hebrews 2:16-18

  "...A great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God" Hebrews 4:14-15

  "...but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Hebrews 9:24-28

TERMINOLOGY ASSOCIATED WITH CHRIST'S SACRIFICE:

• Substitution.
  Were we to die for our own sins, it would be the eternal penalty. Instead, Christ died in our place.

  "...The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all". Isaiah 53:4-6.

  "...Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree..." 1 Peter 2:24.

  " For he hath made him to be sin for us," 2 Corinthians 5:21.

• Atonement
  Atonement is satisfaction of the requirements of justice. A generation or so ago it was common to state that upon serving a prison sentence the prisoner had paid his debt to society (atoned to society) for the crime he had committed.

  "...Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." Romans 5:11.

  "...for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." Leviticus 17:11.

  "...By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Hebrews 9:11-12.

• Redemption
  Redemption is to buy back a person or object which has fallen under the ownership of another. For instance, one might redeem a slave to set him/her free.

  "...Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold," 1 Peter 1:18.

  "...we have redemption through his blood" Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14.

  "... Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity," Titus 2:14.

  " Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." Romans 6:16-18.

• Ransom
  As redemption is an act, a ransom is a payment.

  "... the Son of man came...to give his life a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28.

  "Who gave himself a ransom for all..." 1 Timothy 2:6.

• Propitiation.
  A gift that secures mercy. I have heard it said that a husband who forgets his wife's birthday is prone to give her an especially nice gift the following day as an apology. Notice that in the case of God and sinful man, God, the offended, takes responsibility to provide the propitiation.

  "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation..." Romans 3:25.

  "And he is the propitiation for our sins..." 1 John 2:2.

  "...And sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10.

• Justification
  To be justified is to be declared righteous. For example, a person whose leprosy had been healed was required to present himself to the priest to be pronounced clean. Leviticus 14:1-7, Matthew 8:3-4.

  "...That we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21.

  " Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" Romans 3:20-24.

  "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Romans 8:32-33.

• Reconciliation
  The enmity of the sinful heart toward God is removed.

  "...We were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." Romans 5:10.

  "...And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 5:18.

  "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled" Colossians 1:20-21.

PROOF OF GOD'S ACCEPTANCE OF CHRIST'S SACRIFICE: His resurrection.

• Christ actually died.

  "...Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.". Mathew 27:50.

  "But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:" John 19:33.

  "And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead." Mark 15:44-45.

  "Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away," Matthew 27:62-66.

• Christ actually rose again.

  " I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore," Revelation 1:18.

  "He is not here: for he is risen," Matthew 28:5-6.

  "Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon." Luke 24:34.

  "And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" 1 Corinthians 15:1-8.

• The resurrection is proof positive of the validity of the Gospel.

  "And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:" Romans 1:3-4.

  "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." Romans 4:25.

  "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." 1 Corinthians 15:12-20.

  "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Romans 8:31-39.

This page updated 06/14/2006