In our last post we noted that it is Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice for sin that allows His people to offer the holy God fragrant, acceptable and well-pleasing sacrifices of praise, good works and generosity. In this post we will consider how the Old Testament sacrificial system foreshadowed the sacrifice of Christ, granting the redeemed access to our heavenly Father and making way for our “reasonable worship” (Romans 12:1).
When Adam and Eve sinned, humanity was banished from Eden (the place where God dwelt among those made in His image). Because the penalty of sin is death, redemption required a substitutionary blood sacrifice – a life for a life. This helps explain why ancient cultures universally practiced such sacrifices. They understood that God had been offended. As generations progressed, the blindness of humanity’s sin-darkened hearts continued intensifying. As the blindness of their hearts increased, the more perverse their sacrificial practices became. Not only were they sacrificing to false gods, human sacrifice became common place, including burning infant children alive. A return to a true understanding of the purpose and meaning of blood sacrifice required divine revelation.
God appeared to Abram (later renamed Abraham) and called him from his pagan society. Through his promised seed, God established the people of Israel which grew into a mighty multitude while in Egyptian bondage. The Lord raised up Moses to deliver His people and lead them through the wilderness to the Promised land. It was in the wilderness that divine revelation established the elaborate Levitical sacrificial system – a pattern for the sacrifices of God’s people, foreshadowing the once-for-all atonement of Christ that restores our fellowship with God, permitting us access to the Father.
A return to a true understanding of the purpose and meaning of blood sacrifice required divine revelation.
In addition to the annual sacrifices of Passover and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), there were sacrifices offered daily. The first sacrifice of this perpetual Levitical sacrificial system was the burnt offering. Like Passover and Yom Kippur, it was for everyone, underscoring the universality of the corruption of sin. It was the only offering to be completely burned upon the altar. No portion of that sacrifice was to be eaten, representing total surrender and devotion to God. This sacrifice of atonement must be made before subsequent sacrifices could be offered. All of these sacrifices for sin were fulfilled in Christ’s single, perfect sacrifice, atoning for the all the sins of all God’s people, past, present and future.
The meal offering was a portion of the worshipper’s sustenance, thankfully acknowledging that everything he had belonged to God. This foreshadowed the sacrificial gifts we offer to God as we give to further God’s purpose in the earth. The Philippians’ gift to Paul is an example of such a fragrant, acceptable, and well-pleasing sacrifice. The peace offering signified not only peace with God but one another. A portion of the sacrifice became community meal, shared by the priests and the worshippers. This foreshadowed the peace with God that Christ secured for us on the cross as well as the unity of the Spirit which binds God’s people together regardless of ethnicity, gender or class.
All of these sacrifices for sin were fulfilled in Christ’s single, perfect sacrifice, atoning for the all the sins of all God’s people, past, present and future.
Finally, there were sin and guilt offerings that were to be made when the relationship of the worshipper had been impaired by sin and the profaning of what God calls holy. Christ’s sacrifice covers all our sin, but we are still to confess our sins (1 John 1:9). However, we are not forgiven because we repented. As John tells us, we are forgiven because we have an advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice is always the basis on which sin is forgiven.
Common to all of these sacrifices was the quality of what was offered. Sacrifices were to be the first fruits, not the leftovers. The animals must be healthy and unblemished, not the frail and sickly. The sacrifices offered to God were to be the best and nothing less. The sacrificial system signified complete redemption and absolute devotion.
All of these sacrifices find fulfillment in the sacrifice of Christ. He is the sacrifice we could never offer. Christ was the perfect sacrifice because the Father presented Jesus to be offered up in our place and Jesus Himself was both the Lamb sacrificed and the High Priest performing the sacrifice. There were no sinful hands to pollute this perfect sacrifice. Salvation is of the Lord.
This bit of background is important for understanding the basis on which we are afforded the privilege of offering sacrifices to our Holy God, this side of the cross. Our redemption is paid for. Christ’s perfect sacrifice cannot be repeated. But there are sacrificial responses to the atoning work of our Savior. And, like the preliminary sacrifices of the old order, they represent our total surrender and devotion to the God we once refused to glorify.
In our next post, we will consider what Scripture says about the spiritual sacrifices we are privileged to bring before the Father on the basis of Christ’s perfect sacrifice
You can watch Pastor Stan’s sermon series on the book of Philippians here: https://lwcchurch.org/Philippians.php
