ARTICLE TWO (Bartley)

2-15b Article Two

 

Article Two

 

The former article presented sacrifices in their general nature and significance; but the purpose in this article is to show particular sacrifices, with their several meanings, in the Divine service and worship. Let me suggest to all who may read this, you would find an investigation of divine instituted sacrifices highly interesting and helpful in understanding the great and most wonderful doctrine of Redemption, as delivering perishing sinners from guilt, bondage, and death. For a true knowledge of this one feature in the salvation of the elect children of fallen Adam, will itself show how impossible is the prevalent belief of conditional life and immortality, or conditional time salvation, as depending upon sinful man.

 

Why, the very fact of sacrifice in the acceptable worship of the Holy One, and that we cannot approach unto Him only through the offering of such a sacrifice, is itself a most awful evidence and confession that sin, guilt, and death stand in direful array between God and us, as the cherubim and flaming sword stood between our sinning first parents and the Tree of Life. This puts an everlasting veto upon all mannerism, or human conditions and creature efforts and performances, as admitting us into the Divine Presence, or in the least entitling us to salvation and its blessings and favors in time or eternity.

 

The Divine rejection of Cain and his offering is an example of this solemn fact. The Pharisee who thanked God for what he had done is another case in point. The elder son in our Lord’s parable is still another. The rich young ruler, who turned sorrowfully away from Jesus, is yet another. Finally, the whole house of Israel, who trusted in themselves and their works, are a fearful and everlasting warning to all peoples, who would approach unto God that He will accept and bless none who claim any works of righteousness of their own, or who do not bring and present them in spotless holiness. This awful but just Truth strips all men of the least vestige of worth or merit in the worship of the Holy God, lays the sinner low at His footstool, and shows that even His saints can receive His pardon, favor, and blessing only through the infinite holiness and for the sake of the acceptable sacrifice that they bring. That all-sufficient offering is Christ, “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!”

 

Let us now briefly consider sacrifices in particular, as the Covenant-God Himself instituted them.- (Le 8). Shows us that these are of three kinds: sin-offerings, burnt-offerings, any peace-offerings. These three were so inseparably connected that they were interlaced or ran into one another, so to speak; yet they were not the same, but differed in design and meaning, and together they made one divine doctrine or system of worship – a worship both Scriptural and typical, literal and Spiritual. But many of the worshippers entered not into the Spiritual meaning and blessedness of that divine service; but looked to, and trusted in, its mere visible forms and literal observance, the legal and dark veil being upon their hearts; while the true worshippers (by the gift of faith) followed the High Priest into that within the veil, and saw the day of Christ and His one offering for sin, and were glad and rejoiced, as did their father Abraham, when his son Isaac was released, and the ram was offered instead. All the Divinely ordained sin-offerings had this wonderful meaning, and were as symbols and object-lessons to lift up the heart and nurture the faith of those who penitently drew near to God in supplication and soul-devotion, confessing their sins. For in all their heaven-appointed sacrifices for sin, the children of Israel beheld the death of the victim or offering, and then the consecrated priest offered its blood as an atonement for their sins. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.”

 

Especially on the great Day of Atonement once every year was this fulfilled with awful solemnity before their eyes, when the sanctified High Priest of all Israel passed beyond the mysterious veil with the atoning blood of the slain offering for sin into the most holy place of God’s Temple, called the “Holy of Holies”, where he sprinkled the blood on the Mercy-seat and burnt the sweet incense in the Golden Censer in the presence of the Lord, who dwelt between the Cherubim. God accepted the Atonement and the holy incense at the hands of the High Priest, that he and his people died not, and heard in Holy Heaven the intercession on their behalf, because of the Atonement.

 

Let it be remembered that all the offerings by the Law were to be without spot or blemish, that is, perfect and clean animals only could be offered, thus showing that the only offering for our sins that God will accept for us, as bearing our sins and dying for us, that we might live before Him must be sinless and holy; and only by and through such a perfect sacrifice, and “by means of death,” as a complete atonement or satisfaction for our sins, can we come unto God and be accepted with Him. Such was the solemn significance of every sin-offering and trespass-offering. Only with and in virtue of such a perfect sacrifice for the sins of all His covenant people could the High Priest himself pass through the veil and appear before God in the Holy of Holies. Without this sacrifice for sin and its remission and removal, he must have died before the Lord, and with him all his kindred or people must have also perished in their sins.

 

The solemn and heart-moving lesson taught us in this is, that every part of our salvation, with all its benefits and joys, are vouchsafed to us through the full atonement for our sins, as covenant-blessings. The perfect sacrifice for sin thus made, and accepted of God in Heaven through the ordained High Priest, sin and death were (ceremonially and typically) removed; therefore the worshippers had access unto God, and they and their offerings and services were accepted with Him. This was vividly shown on the great atonement day, by the slain goat, and the living escape goat that bore away the sins of the people. For each goat bore their sins, and represented death for sin, and life through the putting away of all their sins. This wonderful fact was touchingly shown again, when Moses died in the wilderness upon the Mount in full view of the Land of Promise, and then, lo! Joshua, the Minister of Moses, led the children of the Covenant across the mystic River of Death into that good land of the living!

 

All this was blessedly fulfilled and made real and true and perpetual forever, when Jesus, the Christ of the Covenant, our dying and yet living “High Priest of things to come” passed into Heaven itself, to appear in the very presence of God for us.

 

Such is the meaning of the sacrifices offered continually for sins until Christ came, and “suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”

 

Thus now, sin being ended, and death taken out of the way, the true worshippers have personal acceptance with God, and He is well pleased with their sacrifices of burnt-offerings, and of peace-offerings.

 

In the death of the sinless victims offered in sacrifice for their sins and trespasses, the worshippers confess that they themselves deserve the penalty of death, and they indeed thus virtually died and paid the penalty for their sins; then received life from the dead and “passed from death unto life,” because the innocent lamb was their own and its death was theirs or for them. Not only did every spotless victim belong to them, as that which God had provided, as the firstling of Abel’s flock, and the firstborn son of Abraham, and “the only begotten Son of God,” but the sacrifice was valuable and precious to them – the best that they had – the best that God Himself had provided for an offering for sin; and God accepted the sacrifice at the hands of the worshippers because it was both theirs and His. Had it not been their own, but stolen or borrowed, it could not have atoned for them. Thus Atonement for sin is personal and special, because there is a close and inseparable relation between the sacrificer and sacrifice. Hence, all that it is and does, he is and does, for it is this and does this for him. It is His sacrifice. This is the great mystery of the sinner’s acceptance with God. Salvation and all Spiritual and Gospel blessings, in time and eternity, flow to sinners through this medium and for this cause – because “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” So, as it is only in and through Him that we merit and receive any favor and blessing from God, every blessing is His free gift and favor or grace; therefore, it cannot be for our sakes, or for what we do, but for “Jesus only.”