Love and Sacrifice: The Sin Offering
Leviticus 4:1-5:13
Pastor Bob Hiller
3/14/2010
Romans 8:3-4 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
1. Our sin makes us ______________ and unable to enter into the ________________ presence of God.
2. Christ cleanses all of our _____________ and ____________ us.
3. Christ is greater than the sin offerings in the Old Testament in that he not only removes our _______________ sins but our _____________ ones as well.
Scripture Readings
Leviticus 4:1-12,5:1-6,13
2 Corinthians 5:14-21
Luke 18:9-14
Take It With You!
During the season of Lent we will be examining the sacrifices prescribed by God in the book of Leviticus. Here we will offer thoughts and meditations on the sacrifice of Christ to help us as we contemplate and discuss and wrestle with the messages.
Despite the great detail and, at times, strange procedures outlined in Scripture, what lies behind this aspect of the sacrificial system is quite simple to understand. God is holy. He is free of any corruption or filth. He cannot and will not allow Himself to become tainted by the stain of sin. Before He receives people into His presence, before He favors human beings with His grace, we must be purged of all offenses that pollute us and cause God to recoil from us. All these things - indeed, all human sin - are a stench and a foul smell before God.
God graciously provided a system whereby His people could be cleansed and thus enjoy His presence. All the sacrifices of the Old Testament find their fulfillment in Jesus. Paul writes: "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2). Christ is the end of all sacrifices. He cleanses us from the pollution of our sin and enables God to love us and favor us with His presence. He presents us to Himself "without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:27 ).
Jacob A.O. Preus, Just Words: Understanding the Fullness of the Gospel. p. 183
