What God Offers Goes far beyond rituals. He offers salvation, which is forgiveness for sin and eternal life. Wrap your head around that for a moment… Eternal Life! With never any fear of disease, tragedy and death. No getting old with all it’s accompanying problems. No running out of time. But how is this salvation accomplished? Blood, in the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament, was a vivid reminder that God demanded death as a punishment for every wrongdoing (Leviticus 17:11). The animal functioned as a substitute for the offender, and bore the punishment of the person who had sinned. Yom Kippur, or The Day of Atonement, is the most solemn and important holy day of the Jewish calendar. In the Old Testament, Yom Kippur was the day the High Priest made an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the people, which brought reconciliation between God and the people. “On this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:30). However the book of Hebrews explains that “it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins” (10:4). In other words the animal sacrifices of the OT were but a temporary measure pointing to a future event that had yet to occur … “the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). [Note that the Old Testament is replete with “types” or representations by one thing of another. In a one-time event (a perfect sacrifice that did not need to be repeated every year), Jesus Christ shed His blood for the atonement of the sins of all those who choose to put their trust in Him. In other words.. Jesus has saved us from the death penalty by offering Himself in our place. However while the message of the Cross is good news for the penitent, it carries an overtone of warning to those who ignore it’s warning. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Please Note that the word translated love [Agape in the Greek] has little to do with feelings of affection, sentiments of fondness, glowing affinity or mushy sentimentality that never says a harsh word. And it certainly has noting to do with unconditional love. It is a gift that puts the group first. And, by the way, Jesus is not one of many ways to heaven; He is the ONLY way. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). It’s Your Decision
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 00:27:50 +0000
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