The Old and New Covenants
The heart of the New Covenant - continued
A study by the Biblical
Church of God (1985)
Jeremiah 31:31-33
31. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the
land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an
husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my
law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will
be their God, and they shall be my people.
Hebrews 8:8-10
8. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel and with the house of Judah.
9. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the
land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I
regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into
their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them
a God, and they shall be to me a people:
THE OLD
COVENANT
The Old Agreement or Contract was made with the physical nation
of Israel at Mount Sinai (Ex 19:5-8).
Brief Outline of The OLD COVENANT is as follows:
a. OPEN-ENDED CONTRACT - The contract could be added to or
subtracted from by God, but not by the Israelites (Exodus
19:5-6).
b. NATIONAL and INDIVIDUAL - The contract was made both with the
nation of Israel and the individuals of the nation. (The books of
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy detail national and
individual terms and conditions of the contract).
c. EXCLUSIVE - The contract was made exclusively with the nation
of Israel, although it did allow for others to become adopted
into the Israelite nation.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
a. The Israelites were to obey God (Exodus 19:5-6; Exodus 2023).
b. The Israelites would worship only God (Exodus 20:1-7; 25).
c. God would bless the Israelites and protect them.
BENEFITS FOR ISRAEL
Physical and eternal benefits
BENEFITS FOR GOD
The Israelites would be His treasure as a kingdom of priests
(Exodus 19:5-6).
CONTRACT DURATION
The contract was a perpetual contract and would last as long as
the Israelites obeyed God (Exodus 31:16; Leviticus
23:14,21,31,41; 24:5-8; Deuteronomy 28: 15).
CONTRACT RATIFICATION
The contract text was written in stone and in a book, and then
attested to orally and sealed with the blood of the sacrifice
(Exodus 24:3; 24:12; 34:1-5; 24:8).
CONTRACT PREREQUISITES:
This Contract was made between the God Family (through the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and the nation of Israel. The only
prerequisite was to be an Israelite.
PRECAUTIONARY NOTE:
Be it known that this contract was irrevocable; its terms,
conditions and stipulations could not be renegotiated by the God
Family or the nation of Israel. Therefore: The children of Israel
were fully warned of the consequences of breaking this contract
(Deut. 28:15-64).
THE NEW COVENANT
This New Agreement of Contract supersedes and voids the contract
made with the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai (Ex 19:5-8). Brief
Outline of The NEW COVENANT is as follows:
TYPE OF CONTRACT
a. CLOSED CONTRACT - The contract cannot be added to or
subtracted from by either party (Hebrews 8:8-10; 10:16).
b. INDIVIDUAL - The contract is made with an individual Acts
2:38-39,47; 1 John 2:4-5.
c. EXCLUSIVE - The contract is made exclusively between each
individual (whether Israelite or non-Israelite) and God. Each
person is dealt with on a personal level (Matthew 20:16; John
6:44,65).
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
a. The individual must repent of past sins and be baptized.
b. The individual must worship and obey God.
c. God will give the individual the tools to help him perform his
part of the contract.
BENEFITS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL
Physical and eternal benefits.
BENEFITS FOR GOD
To share eternity with newly acquired spiritual sons.
CONTRACT DURATION
The contract will last for eternity once the individual fulfils
his part of the bargain (Hebrews 13:20).
CONTRACT RATIFICATION
The contract is overtly committed to by the individual when he is
physically baptized in water. God then seals the contract by
placing His Spirit into the individuals mind, thereby infusing
His laws, precepts, and principles into that person's very
thought processes (Acts 2:38).
CONTRACT PREREQUISITES:
This Contract is made between the God Family (i.e. God the Father
and Jesus Christ) and the individual. It is only offered to those
specifically called to repentance and salvation by God the
Father. "...no man can come unto me, except it were given unto
him of my Father." (Jn 6:65).
PRECAUTIONARY NOTE:
Be it known that this contract is irrevocable; its terms,
conditions and stipulations are eternal and can not be
renegotiated by the God Family or the individual. Therefore: let
the individual fully consider the consequences of consummating
this contract (Heb. 6:4-8; 10:26-31).
THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW COVENANTS
1. The Priesthood changed from the Aaronic-Levitical to the
Melchizedek-Christ Priesthood (Hebrews 4:15; 5:1-10; 6:20 7:117).
2. The animal sacrificial system was suspended by the perfect
sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:4,10,12,14,16-18).
3. The temple worship system was suspended by the moving of God's
Spirit and temple into those individuals under the new contract
(Acts 2:1-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19).
4. Individuals other than Israelites are now allowed to contract
with God for blessings (Galatians 3:26-20; Ephesians 2:11,13,19).
5. Those individuals who fulfil their par(of the contract:
a. Will have the Spirit of God dwelling within them (Acts 1:4-8
2:38; Hebrews s 8110).
b. Will receive, eternal life (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17;
1 Corinthians 15:158; Revelation 20:4-6; 22:14).
c. Will have direct access to God the Father (Ephesians 2:18;
Hebrews 4:15-16).
d. Are to he co-heirs
(Romans 8:17; Ephesians 3:6).
e. Will become Kings and Priests in the Kingdom of God
(Revelation 2:26; 3:21; 5:10; 20:4-6).
f. Will become Sons of God (Romans 8:14,16,17; 1 John 3:1-2).
g. Will become Gods as God is God (1 John 3:2).
CHAPTER SIX
BAPTISM, THE RATIFICATION OF THE NEW COVENANT
Contrary to what many organized churches believe, baptism is not
for the purpose of binding a person to a group of people or to
one particular physical organization or another. Baptism is your
ratification and acceptance of the terms and conditions that God
has established for the contract between you and the God Family.
"Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death?" (Romans 6:3).
Baptism is the making of a covenant (contract) between a person
and God the Father and Jesus Christ. Baptism is the induction of
a person into the holy and divine family of God and the church of
God. Baptism is a step toward becoming a God-being as God is God.
No earthly organization of puny physical humans can offer this
grand and awesome privilege - only God can bind a person to
Himself and place him into His Family (John 6:44-45).
The allegiance one makes at baptism is to God the Father and
Jesus Christ, and to no other. Baptism is a very, very serious
step to take. From the moment one is baptized and receives the
Holy Spirit, a commitment of gigantic proportions has been made -
by the baptized person, by God the Father, and by Jesus Christ.
The baptized person has committed himself to an endeavor that
will lead to eternal life as a member of the family and
government of God (Revelation 3:5,21; 5:10; 20:4-6), or eternal
death for those who turn back from this commitment (Luke 9:62;
Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-27; Revelation 20:13; 21:8).
God the Father and Jesus Christ have committed themselves to help
the newly begotten son with the very power that sustains the
universe and all that exists (Matthew 6:25-34; Hebrews 13:5-6;
John 14:12-14).
CHAPTER SEVEN SUMMARY
Now we have a fool-proof method under the New Testament or
Covenant or agreement. This new method or covenant will succeed
where the old one failed because we now have a perfect sacrifice,
a perfect High Priest, and the Holy Spirit. When we sin we can go
right into the throne room of God and ask His forgiveness,
knowing that He will forgive because of our perfect High Priest,
Jesus Christ. So we who are under the New Covenant can always
stand before God as righteous individuals, as having never
sinned. God looks on us as if we had never sinned because our
sins are as far from us as the East is from the West: "He has not
dealt with us after our sins; or rewarded us according to our
iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great
is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is
from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us"
(Psalm 103:10-12).
Human beings can forgive, but they cannot forget. But God can
forgive and He also has the ability to forget: "For I will be
merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more" (Hebrews 8:12). So our sins
are gone, never to be brought up again as long as we use the
tools that God has given to us under the New Testament.
One of the Holy Days, the Day of Atonement, pictures the time
when God will call physical Israel from the nations and bring
them back to their land of inheritance. He will at that time give
His Spirit to all of them and eventually will evangelize the
whole world so that everyone in the world will have God's Holy
Spirit. When this happens we will have one thousand years of
peace under the Kingdom of God. During this time of one thousand
years, resurrected Christians (who will then be Spirit Beings)
will have a part in this rulership. These Spirit Beings will
continue to administrate the estate of Jesus Christ offering
eternal inheritance to all who dwell on earth at that time. So
the whole world will eventually be under the New Covenant.
2 Corinthians 3:10 (Living New Testament): "In fact that first
glory as it shone from Moses' face is worth nothing at all in
comparison with the overwhelming glory of the new agreement."
Why was the first glory worth nothing when compared to the New
Covenant or Testament? Because it only showed them what sin was,
and there was no way found, under the first covenant, to take
away sins because the sacrifice of animals could not take away
sin.
GLORY OF THE NEW COVENANT
When you compare the two covenants, the new and the old, side by
side, the new one has an overwhelming glory, because it has the
tools contained in it to succeed where the Old Covenant did not.
These tools are (1) the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, (2) a
High Priest who understands man's imperfections (Hebrews 2) and
(3) the Holy Spirit placed within man, so that he now desires to
obey God's commandments. 2 Corinthians 3:11 says: "So if the old
system that faded into nothing was full of heavenly glory, the
glory of God's new plan for our salvation is certainly far
greater, for it is eternal."
The New Covenant will never fade away, but will end in eternal
life and the glory of becoming a son of God, born into the Family
of God, having the same kind of glory and power of God himself:
"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the
everlasting covenant" (Hebrews 13:20).
The New Covenant brings with it an opportunity to be among the
first of humanity to be made a part of the very Family of God, as
a son of God the Father just as Jesus Christ is His firstborn
Son. It offers an eternal inheritance of the physical earth and
the universe plus a spiritual inheritance so fantastic that it
can not even be comprehended by the human mind. All of this and
more is offered by God the Father to those He calls and extends
the New Covenant in this age of human existence.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Is God extending this contract to you? If you understand what you
have read in this booklet, there is a good chance you are being
afforded this rare opportunity. Would you like to be among the
first humans to become a son of God and inherit the eternal
benefits offered by God the Father to those who desire them? Do
you want to make a contract for eternal life with the ruler of
all that is or will ever be? You can if you so desire. The choice
is yours alone.
..................
TWO COVENANTS - sacrifices!
Mankind was created as a being with the ability to reason and
weigh alternate courses of physical and mental action: in other
words he was created with the ability to choose to do as he
pleased, whether good or evil. Before God created humanity He
knew that they might choose evil over good. He also knew that man
might, after choosing evil and seeing the results of such
behaviour, want to change and obey Him. If man did want to repent
and get in tune with His Creator and His laws, there must be a
method by which this could be done. So before man's creation, God
formulated the SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM in order to give mankind a way
to place himself back into contact and right-standing with his
Creator (Well....animal sacrificing that would REMIND mankind
that they were sinners and the blood would have to be shed to
blot out their sins. And to point them TOWARDS the ONE who would
come to shed His blood for the sins of the world, the Messiah
God, a member of the Godhead - Keith Hunt).
Maintaining this right-standing with God was a major part of the
terms and conditions of Old Covenant. Remember, God said to the
Israelites that if they would obey Him, He would bless them. But
if they disobeyed Him, He would curse them (Deuteronomy 28). (And
remember that NO eternal life was ever promised to the MAJORITY
in Israel under the Old Covenant - see Romans 10; 11; where we
are clearly told that it was only the ELECTION of grace that
saved some, the REST were BLINDED, and God had given them that
blindness, even to this day. Also Deut.5:29 and 29:4; Num.11;
prove that it was not God's intention to save but a few in Israel
under the Old Covenant - Keith Hunt)
It is very important for those under the New Covenant to
understand how the Israelites maintained a good relationship with
their Creator, and how we as Christians can use their examples,
good or bad, to help us maintain a good relationship with God the
Father and Jesus Christ (True, on the moral side of the question
as the apostle Paul would verify in 1 Cor.10:1-13, but on animal
sacrificing there is no equation because those physical rites of
the Old Covenant would not be a part of the New Covenant, as
planned by God, for He determined that all physical Priest/Temple
rites would come to a stop in 70 A.D. when the Jerusalem Temple
would be destroyed by the Roman armies of Titus - Keith Hunt). It
is this good relationship or right-standing with God that assures
the Christian of salvation under the terms and conditions of the
New Covenant......
THE SUPREME SACRIFICE
Let's take a look at Romans 3:25 (King James Version) which
reads: "Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith
in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of
sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."
Notice here the statement: "for the remission of sins that are
past." My marginal reference says "passing over of sins done
aforetime - that is, since the time of Adam."
Quoting from William Barclay:
"It is through him (Christ) that there emerges a new covenant
between God and man; and the purpose behind this new covenant is
that those who have been called might receive the eternal
inheritance which has been promised to them; but this could
happen only after a death had taken place, the purpose of which
was to rescue them from the consequence of the transgressions
which had been committed under the conditions of the old
covenant. For where there is a will, it is necessary that there
should be evidence of the death of the testator before the will
is valid. It is in the case of dead people that a will is
confirmed, since surely it cannot be operative when the testator
is still alive.
As we have seen, the idea of the covenant is basic to the thought
of the writer, by which he meant a relationship between God and
man. The first covenant was dependent on man's keeping of the
law; as soon as he broke the law (as a way of life, as a chosen
path, as a mindset, which is different from a weakness of the
flesh, but still wanting to live the way of the Lord's
commandments - Keith hunt) the covenant became ineffective.
Let us remember that to our writer religion means access to God.
Therefore, the basic meaning of the new covenant, which Jesus
inaugurated, is that without the shedding of blood there is no
forgiveness.
That is why even the first covenant was not inaugurated without
blood. For, after every commandment which the law lays down had
been announced by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of
calves and goats, together with water and scarlet and hyssop, and
sprinkled the book itself and all the people. And as he did so,
he said: 'This is the blood of the covenant whose conditions God
commanded you to observe.' In like manner he sprinkled with blood
the tabernacle also and all the instruments used in its worship.
Under the conditions which the law lays down, it is true to say
that almost everything is cleansed by blood. Men should have
access to God or, to put it another way, have fellowship with
Him. But here is the difficulty. Men come to the new covenant
already stained with the sins committed under the old covenant,
for which the old sacrificial system was powerless to atone (take
away). So the writer to the Hebrews has a tremendous thought and
says that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is retroactive. That is
to say, it is effective to wipe out the sins of men committed
under the old covenant and to inaugurate the fellowship promised
under the new" (End of quote, William Barclay's commentary on
Hebrews).
(Yes, the way of salvation even under the Old Covenant, was
always by grace through faith in the atoning blood of the
Messiah, and animals sacrifices only reminded them that they were
sinners and the shedding of the Messiah's blood was the only away
to wipe away sins in the ultimate view to salvation. There was a
type of reconciliation with God in these physical rites, but only
as pertaining to the continuing of the agreement Israel and God
had made together under the treaty of the Covenant made in Moses'
time - Israel would serve God, obey Him, have a mindset to obey
Him, and He would physically bless them, and use them to show
other nations the way of the true God was the way people should
live - Deut.4 - Keith Hunt).
All this seems very complicated but at the back of it there are
two great eternal truths. FIRST, the sacrifice of Jesus gains
forgiveness for past sins. We ought to be punished for what we
have done and shut out from God; but because of what Jesus did,
the debt is wiped out, the breach is forgiven and the barrier is
taken away. SECOND, the sacrifice of Jesus opens a new life for
the future. It opens the way to fellowship with God.
THE PRICE OF FORGIVENESS
William Barclay:
The life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it for
you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is
the blood that makes atonement" (Leviticus 17:11). Let us further
understand this scripture. "Without the shedding of blood there
can be no atonement for sin" was actually a well known Hebrew
principle.
The writer to the Hebrews goes back to the inauguration of the
first covenant under Moses, the occasion when the people accepted
the law as the condition of their special relationship with God.
We are told how sacrifice was made and how Moses took half of the
blood and put it in basins; and half of the blood he threw
against the altar. After the book of the law had been read and
the people had signified their acceptance of it Moses took the
blood and threw it upon the people, and said: "Behold the blood
of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance
with all these words" (Exodus 24:3-8).
His basic idea is that there can be no cleansing and no
ratification of any covenant without the shedding of blood. Why
this should be so, he does not need to know. Scripture says it is
so and that is enough for him. The probable reason is that blood
is life, as the Hebrew saw it. Life is the most precious thing in
the world, and man must offer his most precious possession to
God.
Forgiveness is a costly thing. Human forgiveness is costly. A son
or a daughter may go wrong and a father or a mother may forgive;
but that forgiveness brings tears, whiteness to the hair, lines
to the face, a cutting anguish and then a long dull ache to the
heart. It doesn't cost 'nothing.' Divine forgiveness is costly.
God is love but he is also holiness. He, least of all, can break
the great moral laws on which the universe is built. Sin must
have its punishment or the very structure of life disintegrates.
And God alone can pay the terrible price that is necessary before
men can be forgiven.
Forgiveness is never a case of saying: 'It's all right; it
doesn't matter.' Without the shedding of heart's blood, there can
be no forgiveness of sins. Nothing brings a man to his senses
with such arresting violence as to see the effect of his sin on
someone in this world who loves him, or on the God who loves him
for ever, and to say to himself: 'It cost that to forgive my
sin.'
Where there is forgiveness, someone must be crucified" (William
Barclay's commentary on Hebrews 9:15-22,pp 105-106).
THE SACRIFICE FOR
FORGIVENESS OF SIN
Christ's sacrifice will also take away the sins that God had
passed over (covered) from Adam to Christ.
(Here the Biblical Church of God study gets rather confusing as
they try to explain the physical animal sacrificing in some kind
of relation to the New Covenant. The truth is really very simple,
animal sacrificing never really played a direct part in saving
people to eternal life, that those animals sacrifices never took
away sins for eternal life, at BEST they REMINDED those shedding
the blood of animals, that the ONE God member would come, in the
future for them, and need to shed His blood, to forgive sins.
Those BEFORE Jesus' coming to die on the cross, people called and
chosen of God for salvation, were justified and saved EXACTLY as
we, who have come AFTER Christ's death. We are all saved by GRACE
through FAITH.
Those before the cross looked FORWARD IN faith, we who have come
after the cross look BACK IN FAITH. Only those who were CALLED
and CHOSEN, given God's Spirit, from Adam to Jesus' return to
earth in power and glory, will be saved and be in that FIRST
RESURRECTION to GLORY (as outlined in 1 Cor.15) and those are
relatively few, the small group, the little flock, the salt of
the earth people - Keith Hunt).
THE ATONEMENT FOR SINS
There is one other point that must be made very clear. Under the
sacrificial system there were some sins that could be atoned for,
and there were some that could not be atoned for (For Eternal
life there were no sins that could be atoned for, but only
through faith in the shed blood of Christ, the Messiah. The
atoning for sins was under the Old Covenant, only in this
physical life - to live or to die, to give restitution to people
effected by your sins, to pay a physical penalty of some kind -
Keith Hunt).
Here are a few of the sins for which there was no sacrifice that
could be offered for atonement. The penalty under the Old
Covenant was death! No atoning sacrifice covered these sins:
Kidnapping Death Penalty Deut 24:7; Ex 21:6
Adultery Death Penalty Lev 20:10
Rape Death Penalty Deut 23:25-27
Murder Death Penalty Num 35:17-21
Sodomy Death Penalty Lev 20:13
Witchcraft Death Penalty Ex 22:18
Blasphemy Death Penalty Lev. 24:15-18
(These were sins that IF NOT "repented of" carried the death
sentence. If they were repented of, then forgiveness from the
physical penalty in this physical life could be extended to the
sinner, it was a judgement call by God and the judges of Israel.
The classic example is that of king David, who was forgiven by
God the physical death penalty, but punished in other ways, for
adultery and murder - Keith Hunt).
Sins that could be covered by offering an atoning sacrifice,
thereby bringing a restitution are:
Stealing - Ex 22:1; 22:4.7
Self-confessed crimes - Lev 5:2-7
Sins done in ignorance - Lev 4:2,27
It is important to understand that there were certain sins that
if committed under the Old Covenant resulted in the penalty of
death. There was no way one could be pardoned for a capital crime
against God or man. The death penalty was mandatory for these
crimes.
(Very wrong indeed. The example of DAVID being FORGIVEN, UPON
REPENTANCE, for adultery and murder, should blast this false idea
into the next solar-system - Keith Hunt).
HEBREWS 10:26-31
There is one vast difference between the New Covenant and the Old
Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, there was no atoning sacrifice
for certain sins (very wrong if the person repented, it was then
a judgement call - David's judgement call was to spare his life
but punish him in other ways, but true, there was no sacrifice
David could do in any physical way - Keith Hunt). Under the New
Covenant, Christ's perfect sacrifice will take away all sins, no
matter how terrible, as long as one is truly repentant of that
sin (This was also the way it was from the time of Adam, this was
the way it was for David, this is the way it was for being saved
to eternal life ALWAYS, from the day of Adam. One way to
salvation for all people from the very beginning, for those
called and chosen - Keith Hunt).
There is a note of caution however in the New Testament. Hebrews
10:26-31 (Good News Bible) reads: "Anyone who disobeys the Law of
Moses is put to death without any mercy when judged guilty from
the evidence of two or more witnesses (a GENERAL statement
only....see the study called "A Key to Bible Understanding -
General Statements" - Keith Hunt). What, then, of the person who
despises the Son of God? Who treats as an unholy thing the blood
of God's covenant which purified him from sin? Who insults the
Spirit of grace? Just think how much worse is the punishment he
will deserve! For we know who said, 'I will take revenge. I will
repay,' and who also said, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It
is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
What can we learn from this passage? Verse 26: if we continue to
sin AFTER we KNOW the truth, the sacrifice of Christ will not
take away that sin. An example of this would be if a person had
the knowledge of the Sabbath and the Holy Days and knew what God
expected of him, then said in his heart: 'I don't care what God
says, I will not keep His Sabbath holy,' this person then is in
danger of the judgment.
This principle will hold true with any truth of God. The more we
know, the more God is going to hold us responsible for.
Verse 28: note here, as we have already stated, that certain
crimes demanded the death penalty under the Old Covenant (but
could be commuted to a lesser penalty as in David's case - Keith
Hunt).
Verse 29 states that if one has no faith in the blood of Christ
to take away sins and consider it an unholy thing, then that
person is in grave danger of the judgment. Note also his
punishment will be worse. Under the Old Covenant the penalty was
a physical death. But to him who KNOWS the truth of God and the
truth about the atoning power of the blood of Christ, and
does NOT obey, his penalty will be the second death, which is the
lake of fire (verse 27). The second death is the final death; it
is eternal. From it no one can return to life, because he will be
erased from the book of life which God keeps of all humanity
(Deuteronomy 29:20; Psalm 69:28; Revelation 3:5). (There is no
"commuting" this judgement - it is sure and it is FINAL, no
lesser sentence can be given but eternal death, for tramping on
and disregarding the blood of Christ - Keith Hunt).
Verse 31: so it is indeed a terrifying thing to fall into the
hands of the living God.
FORGIVENESS AND REPENTANCE
Now let us look at the Book of the Law and see where a sin was
forgiven AFTER REPENTANCE, and the corresponding proper sacrifice
that was to be used.
"Sin offerings are required in the following cases: If someone is
officially summoned to give evidence in court and does not give
information about something he has seen or heard, he must suffer
the consequences. When a person is guilty, he must confess the
sin. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the
man's sin, and he will be forgiven ..." (Leviticus 5:1,5,13, Good
News Bible).
Notice that sin offerings were required for specific offenses
which are then listed. Verse 5: when a person is guilty, he must
confess and bring the proper sacrifice. Then note in verse 13;
the priest shall offer the sacrifice and the man's sins shall be
forgiven. This is also mentioned in verse 18 and in Leviticus
6:1-7.
So we see that if confession is made, along with the proper
sacrifice, one's sins are forgiven ... The people of Israel were
put back in contact or right-standing with God through the proper
sacrifices and repentance.
So we see that the children of Israel could go before God as
individuals for certain sins they had committed and by a
sacrifice get back in right-standing with God.
Again, this right-standing with God, under this sacrificial
system of the Old Covenant was merely for this physical life
under the conditions of the Old Covenant....God saying, "you do
my commandments and I will bless you in this material life, you
disobey and not follow my ways, then curses will come upon you."
It was all to do with keeping the Covenant of Israel in good
standing with God, the animal sacrifices had no bearing in any
direct way with eternal life that was offered to those called and
chosen by God under the Old Covenant. It was not God's original
intent to have a strict, somewhat complicated, animal sacrifice
system - Jer.7:22,23; Ps.51:16-17; 1 Sam.15:22.
The sacrificial system per se, had nothing to do towards being
saved under the Old Covenant. The SACRIFICE of the Messiah, being
saved by GRACE through FAITH, in HIS shed blood for justification
and forgiveness of sins, was ALWAYS THE ONLY WAY to be saved,
whoever you were and whenever you lived. It is THROUGH Christ we
can have and remain in right-standing with God the Father.
There was no animal sacrifice that David could have done after
his adultery with Bathsheba and the killing of her husband, that
could have forgiven him, but he was spared the penalty of
physical death BECAUSE of his DEEP REPENTANCE. Read
all of Psalm 51.
(Remaining under the Grace of God is, as outlined by John the
apostle in 1 John chapters 1 and 2. This I have covered in some
detail in my studies called "Saved by Grace." - Keith Hunt).
....................
The Old and New Covenants - Sacrifices pointing to ONE
THE SACRIFICES
OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
"The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron
who were killed when they offered unholy fire to the Lord. He
said, Tell your brother Aaron that only at the proper time is he
to go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place, because that
is where I appear in a cloud above the lid on the Covenant Box.
If he disobeys, he will be killed. He may enter the Most Holy
Place only after he has brought a young bull for a sin offering
and a ram for a burnt offering" (Leviticus 16:1-3, Good News
Bible).
"Then the Lord gave the following instructions. Before Aaron goes
into the Most Holy Place, he must take a bath and put on the
priestly garments: the linen robe and shorts, the belt and the
turban" (verse 4). Note in verse 5, the community of Israel was
to give Aaron the two goats for a sin offering.
Verses 14-16: "He shall take some of the bull's blood and with
his finger sprinkle it on the front of the lid and then sprinkle
some of it seven times in front of the Covenant Box. After that,
he shall kill the "first" goat for the sin offering for the
people, bring its blood into the Most Holy Place, and sprinkle it
on the lid and then in front of the Covenant Box, as he did with
the bull's blood. In this way he will perform the ritual to
purify the Most Holy Place from the uncleanness of the people of
Israel and from all their sins. He must do this to the Tent,
because it stands in the middle of the camp, which is ritually
unclean."
Verse 15: God used this ritual to purify the Holiest of Holies
and the altar. In this way (verse 14) Aaron is to purify the Holy
of Holies and the altar from the sins of the people of Israel and
make it holy.
What about the second goat? Verse 10 of Leviticus 16 says: "The
goat chosen for Azazel shall be presented alive to the Lord and
sent off into the desert, in order to cover the sins of the
people."
Note that the live goat shall be presented alive before the Lord
to make atonement over it and then sent into the wilderness
carrying their sins. (This is further proof that the nation's
sins were covered by God)(covered, not blotted out, as the BCG
admit later, covered so the Old Covenant contract and
relationship between God and Israel could continue for another
year - Keith Hunt).
In Leviticus 9:5-6 we read: "They brought to the front of the
Tent everything that Moses had commanded, and the whole community
assembled there to worship the Lord. Moses said, 'The Lord has
commanded you to do all this, so that the dazzling light of his
presence can appear to you.'" Note here in verse 6 the sins of
the people are forgiven and covered.
Verses 22-24 of Leviticus 9 tell us that God appeared and
consumed the sacrifice. This is evidence that He accepted the
sacrifices.
We see that the people's sins, the ones committed during the
year, were forgiven and covered so that God could continue to
deal with them for one more year....
The important thing to remember is that their sins were only
covered, they were not taken away. The word "atone" means to
cover, purge or make reconciliation.
Now let us go to Hebrews 10:4: "For it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." This is an
important scripture. It states that the blood of bulls and goats
could not take away sin (this blood could only cover their sins).
So under the Old Covenant their sins were covered. God still had
a list of the times they had transgressed His law. This list
could still be used as evidence against them on the day of
judgment.
But as we learned, under the New Covenant the sins are not just
covered. They are TAKEN AWAY as far as the east is from the west.
They are completely forgotten by God, never to be remembered
again. Under the New Covenant, we can stand before God as a
righteous individual - as one who has never sinned.
The list of sins that God had of our transgressions are nailed to
the stake never again to be remembered (Colossians 2:14 15).
So under the New Testament the blood of Christ will forgive all
sins and then remove these sins forever. This could never happen
under the Old Covenant.
HOLINESS THROUGH THE SACRIFICES
One other point we should be aware of is that man became holy by
the sacrificial system (this is explained in Leviticus chapters 8
and 16) and was kept holy through them. When one committed sins
under the Old Covenant, the only way he could be put back in
contact with God and restored to holiness was through the
sacrificial system. (ONLY TO A POINT WAS THIS TRUE - in the
point of a continued relationship with God, so the Old Covenant
could continue to be in effect between Israel and God. There was
NO sacrifice of any animal that could have made David justified or
holy after his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and his follow up
of planning the likely-hood of her husbands death by placing him
in the front lines of Israel's army against her enemies. It was
because of David's DEEP REPENTANCE that the Lord commuted
his death sentence for such sins, to other punishments. David was
saved under the Old Covenant by GRACE through FAITH, the same
way that ALL who will be in the first resurrection will be saved -
Keith Hunt).
Man basically is carnal, subject to sin, a sinner. In order to be
right with the Holy God, however, man must first be made holy.
This can happen only through sacrifice. Man cannot sacrifice
himself, because he is not "without blemish" as a sinner. But a
substitute "without blemish" may die on his behalf. This
substitute must itself be holy and without blemish. Through the
sacrifice of this substitute, a man's life can be redeemed or
bought back or given back to him.
Quote:
"The substitute which is sacrificed must be 'devoted to the Lord'
for only then is the substitute most holy to the Lord. Leviticus
27:28: 'Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote
unto the Lord of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of
the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every
devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord.' The sacrifice must be
totally and utterly destroyed. Leviticus 27:29: 'None devoted,
which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall
surely be put to death.' The Hebrew word used here is the Hebrew
'cherem.' This term describes what Joshua did to the city of
Jericho when he sent it up in smoke to God. So 'the devoted thing
given to the Lord' (verses 2829) cannot ransom itself, though it
is now the 'ashram' or guilt offering. So it must be another who
now becomes the ransom for the sinner, one who is willing to make
the ultimate and absolute commitment for the price of man; and
that can happen only if he be willing to be a 'cherem,' that is,
a total sacrifice. As Paul insists, it is only God himself,
uttering his Word which is both blessing and curse at the same
time, who can do this thing; and it is just this that God
actually does, in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19)" (Quoted from
"Leviticus," by George A. F. Knight).
It is quite obvious that Christians are ***made and kept holy
through the blood of Christ, the perfect sacrifice, ***just as
the people under the Old Covenant were made and kept holy by the
sacrificial system (as pertaining and in view to the Old Covenant
agreement on god's part towards what he had promised Israel -
Keith Hunt). ***For it is through the sacrifice of Christ that we
are declared holy in God's eyes, and it is through His sacrifice
that we can continually remain holy in His eyes.*** (Yes indeed,
see my studies "Saved by Grace" - Keith Hunt).
THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM OF WORSHIP
What purpose did the sacrificial system serve? Was the system of
an interface between God and man? Could the individual, through
the sacrificial system, stay in right-standing with God? Were the
sacrifices a form of worship whereby the individual could express
his love and appreciation for the many blessing God had given
him? Let us see if we can find the answers to these questions.
SACRIFICES - ACTS OF PRAISE
We will see that some of the sacrifices were acts of praise,
thankfulness, homage, and submission to the Holy One of Israel.
They were symbols of man's gratitude to God, and also symbols of
man's dependence, devotion and confidence in God.
THE DIFFERENT MEANINGS OF THE SACRIFICES
For an overview of the sacrifices or offerings and the offerer,
we can go to Jukes' book "The Law of the Offerings," pp 44-45:
"What, then, is the OFFERING? what the PRIEST? what the OFFERER?
Christ is the offering, Christ is the priest, Christ is the
offerer. Such and so manifold are the relations in which Christ
has stood for man and to man, that no one type or set of types
can adequately represent the fullness of them. Thus we have many
distinct classes of types of sacrifices, and further variations
in these distinct classes of sacrifices, ***each of which gives
us one particular view of Christ, either in His character, or in
His work, or person.*** But see Him as we may, for sinners He
fills more than one relation. This causes the necessity of many
emblems. First He comes as offerer, but we cannot see the offerer
without the offering, and the offerer is himself the offering,
and He who is both offerer and offering is also the priest.
Christ, as a man under the law, was our substitute when He stood
in our stead before God as offerer (His own body). He took 'the
body prepared for God' as His offering, that in it and by it He
might reconcile us to God. Thus, when the animal sacrifices and
offerings had wholly failed, when at man's hand God would no more
accept them: 'then said He, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book
it is written of me, I delight to do Thy will, O God: yea, Thy
law is within my heart' (Hebrews 10:5-9; Psalm 40:6-8). Thus His
body was His offering, willingly offered. Then, as Priest, He
took the blood into the holiest of Holies. As Offerer, we see Him
under the law, standing as a substitute for us, to fulfil all
righteousness. As Priest, we have Him presented as the Mediator,
God's messenger between Himself and Israel. As the Offering, He
is seen the innocent victim, a sweet savour to God, yet bearing
the sin and dying for it.
Thus in the selfsame type, the offerer sets forth Christ in His
person as the One who became man to meet God's requirements. The
offering presents Him in His character and work as the victim by
which the atonement was ratified, while the priest gives us a
third picture of Him, in His official relation as the appointed
mediator and intercessor. Accordingly, when we have a type in
which the offering is most prominent, the leading thought will be
Christ the victim. On the other hand, when the offerer or priest
predominates, it will respectively be Christ as man, or Christ as
mediator" (End of Jukes quote).
What he is saying here is that Christ is pictured as (1) the One
bringing the offering, (2) the One being offered, and (3) the
Priest giving the offering.
THE SACRIFICES THAT WERE ACTS OF PRAISE
THE BURNT OFFERING (Leviticus 1:3-7)
expresses one's individual self surrender to God's will. It
pictures the faithful Israelite giving a sweet-smelling offering
as a gift to God. In the burnt offering we see a method where one
can come before God with something valuable given by the giver
and also pleasing to God. Sin does not enter into this sacrifice.
It is strictly a means of an individual expressing his feelings
to God. This offering, then, is strictly a means of worshipping
God.
THE MEAL OFFERING
is also a burnt offering. It is an offering that is pleasing to
God. It pictures the individual in perfect obedience to God. It
has basically the same meaning as the burnt offering. Again this
offering has nothing to do with sin. It is a means whereby one
could worship God by bringing God his offering - something
valuable to the offerer. It is also God's food (Leviticus 2:1-6).
"In the Burnt or Meat offering, we have the offering satisfying
God; all consumed by His fire, and ascending to Him as in the
Burnt offering; or shared, as in the Meat offering, with His
priests. But in all this, though God was satisfied, the offerer
got no part of the offering. The Burnt and Meat offerings were
the emblem of the perfect fulfillment of the law's requirements.
In them we see man (in Christ) offering to God that which
perfectly satisfies Him. God finds food in the offering, and
declares it to be very good. But in all this the offerer has
nothing" (ibed., Jukes)
THE PEACE OFFERING
is also called the fellowship offering and pictures the
individual's gratitude to God for his bounteous blessings and
mercies. It also pictures God, man, and the High Priest eating
and fellowshipping together as a family. It also pictures a
family feast or a community feast where friends and neighbors get
together with God to have fellowship (Leviticus 3:117).
What we see here in the peace offering is a means for the
different ones to get together to fellowship and worship God.
This offering has nothing to do with sin. This offering, as was
the burnt offering, is a means whereby the people could worship
God.
Quote:
"In its contrast may be sufficient points: (1) It was and, (2)
The offerer, God, and the priest were fed by it. Not as offered
with any reference to sin, but rather as showing man giving to
God that which is sweet and pleasant to Him.
The second point by which the Peace offering differed from others
was that in it the offerer, the priest, and God, all fed
together. This was the case in no offering but the Peace
offering. In this they had something in common. Here each had a
part.
In the Peace-offering the offerer feasts. In other words, he
finds satisfaction, and feeds upon the same offering of which a
part has already satisfied God. For, a part of the Peace offering
(the fat, the blood, the inwards) must have already been consumed
on the altar before the offerer can touch his part.
The offerer feasts with God. Man (in Christ) and God find common
food. The offering is shared between them. The thought here is
not, as in the burnt-offering, merely that God finds satisfaction
in the offering. It includes this, but it goes further. It shows
communion, for God and man share together.
Is Christ not, as man, God's heir and first-born, the One in whom
His soul delights, the One with whom God holds unbroken
fellowship, to whom He reveals all His mind? And does Jesus hold
this alone? Are we not, in Him, called to the same communion? Are
we not in all His fellow-heirs, His joy, His bride, His members?
The Peace-offering answers the question when it shows us, man,
feasting with God." (ibed., Jukes).
FREEWILL OFFERINGS
***The Burnt offering, The Peace offering, The Meal offering and
The Freewill offering were all freewill offerings brought to God
by the individual because the offerer wanted to, not because he
had to. This was his way of telling God, 'Thank you for
everything.' These offerings picture us as God's children
bringing our offering to God and telling Him, 'Thanks for
everything; we are grateful for all You have done for us.' We
show our gratitude today by going to God in prayer, through
Christ, thanking Him for all His bounteous blessings and mercies;
and by contributing to His work here on earth.***
SACRIFICES DEALING WITH SINS
King David knew God would forgive him when he asked: "Have mercy
upon me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; according unto
the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before
me. Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done this evil in
your sight, that you might be justified when you speak, and be
clear when you judge. Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in
sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you desire truth in the
inward parts, and in the hidden part you shall make me know
wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and
I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:1-7).
Paul also dealt with this same thing in Romans, the seventh
chapter, verses 15-25. But notice verses 24-25 which read: "Oh,
wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of
this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So, then,
with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh,
the law of sin."
Here we see that the sacrifice of Christ in the form of the sin
offering is what saved Paul from his human nature.
THE SIN OFFERING
THE SIN OFFERING was offered for the sins done in ignorance, or
the unknown sin, by the individual. It was given to show God that
the one giving the sacrifice recognized that he was a sinner and
was bound to commit sins that he was not aware of. It shows God
that he realized that he was human with human nature that is
subject to sin. And that being human, he had sin dwelling in him.
It pictures him asking God to purge that sin from him and make
him pure (Leviticus 4:1-35).
This was not an offering where the individual came and confessed
his known sins, one by one. (This was done in the next offering
we will consider, called the Trespass offering).
Once again let's go to Jukes' "Law of the Offerings" for more
light on the sin offering:
"With our shortsightedness, our inability to see beyond the
surface, we naturally look at what man does, rather that at what
he is; and while we are willing to allow that he does evil, we
perhaps scarcely think that he is evil. But God judges what we
are as well as what we do; our sin, the sin in us, as much as our
trespasses. In His sight, sin in us, our evil nature, is as
clearly seen as our trespasses, which are but the fruit of that
nature. He needs not wait to see the fruit put forth. He knows
the root is evil, and so will be the buddings."
As we have seen THE TRESPASS OFFERING was given when
a man actually sinned. It pictures one who is truly sorry he has
sinned. It pictures one who is confessing his sin (crime) before
God and then making restitution for that sin (crime). If he does
all of this then God will forgive him. Now to continue in Jukes'
Law of the Offerings.
"Now the distinction between the SIN and TRESPASS OFFERINGS
is just this: - the one is for sin in our nature (this is the sin
offering), the other for the fruits of it (the trespass
offering). And a careful examination of the particulars of the
offering is all that is needed to make this manifest. Thus in the
Sin offering, no particular act of sin is mentioned, but a
certain person is seen standing confessedly as a sinner: in the
Trespass offering certain acts are enumerated, and the person
never appears. Of course, in the sin offering, though the man is
seen rather than his acts, proof must needs be brought that he is
a sinner. No definite act of trespass is seen here: for it is 'an
offering for sin,' not an offering for trespass. In the Trespass
offering, on the other hand, it is exactly the reverse. We have
nothing but one detail after another of particular wrongs and
offenses; the first class being of wrongs done against God, the
other of wrongs against our neighbor.
In the SIN OFFERING, the atonement is seen not for trespasses
the fruits of sin, but for sin itself within us. Look at the man who
has somewhat grown in grace; not only what he has done, but what
he is, is his sorrow. With such it is not so much this or that
act of trespass, which leaves the question of guilt on the
conscience; but it is the constant sense of indwelling evil, and
that 'when we would do good, evil is present with us.' This or
that particular act of iniquity we have confessed, it is past,
and we believe it pardoned: but this ever-remaining, ever-
struggling sin within us, it is this more than aught else that
burdens us. True, 'the Spirit in our hearts cries Abba,
Father,' and 'the Spirit in us lusts against the flesh;' but we
find that all this instead of improving the flesh only manifests
it, and shows how it 'lusts against the Spirit.' To those who are
thus painfully learning what they are (a sinner), what joy to
know Christ died for this as well as for trespasses; and that
this indwelling sin, as much as our acts of wickedness, was
equally confessed and put away by His sacrifice" (End of quote
from Jukes, page 151-152).
TRESPASS OFFERING
Let us go to Leviticus 5:16 to understand the Trespass offering a
little better. Quoting again from Jukes:
"And he shall make amends for the harm that he has done in the
holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it
unto the priest; and the priest shall make an atonement for him
with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven
him.
Sin is the evil of our nature; and the offering for this, the Sin
Offering, is for what we are. In the case of trespass, the
offering is for what we have done, for the actual wrong committed
against some one.
Now it follows from the distinct nature of these things, that the
atonement or satisfaction for each must differ, in measure at
least; for that which would fully satisfy justice in reference to
sin would by no means do so in reference to trespass. In the case
of sin - that is, our sinful nature, where no actual robbery or
wrong had been committed against anyone - justice would be fully
satisfied by the death and suffering of the sinner. But the mere
suffering and death of the sinner would not make satisfaction for
the wrong of trespass.
For the victim merely to die for trespass, would leave the
injured party a loser still. The trespasser indeed might be
punished, but the wrong and injury would still remain. The
trespasser's death would not repair the trespass, nor restore
those rights which another had been robbed of. To make
satisfaction in the Trespass offering, there is not only judgment
on the victim, but restitution also; the right of which another
had been defrauded is satisfied; the wrong fully repaid.
In a word, atonement for trespass implies restitution; without
this, though the trespasser is judged, the claim of trespass
remains still unsatisfied. Not only is the original wrong paid,
but a fifth part more is paid with it in the Trespass offering.
But while this was the import of giving the fifth part, yet by
the addition of this fifth the injured party became in truth a
gainer. So far from losing by trespass, he received more back
again. Its payment testified that he to who it was given had now
not only his original right, but a still further claim upon him
who wronged him.
The fact that God has been wronged by man, and that Christ stands
for man confessing trespasses, gives God a claim upon Him, not
only for the original right, but for more that the first claimed
holy things. So, too, because man has been injured by man, and
because Christ stands for man as his substitute, therefore man,
injured by trespass, has a claim on Christ, not for the original
right only, but for greater blessings" (Jukes, page 185).
..............
So we end the study from 1985 by the Biblical Church of God. The
book by Jukes "Law of the Offerings" is a very fine book indeed,
a copy of which I have in my library. I do not know if it is
still being published, but your local Library may have it or can
obtain it through their inter-Library loan department. I
recommend every Christian reads it.
We see in the sacrificial offerings JESUS the Messiah. He was the
ONE sacrifice that could not only cover sins but blot them out,
take them away, as if they never existed, and so ALL who were
called and chosen, granted the heart of repentance, and who loved
the commandments of God, who had a mindset of living and serving
the Lord, could come under the "Spiritual New Covenant" no matter
when they lived on earth, and could be saved by grace through
faith in THE sacrifice of the Messiah God. King David of ancient
Israel is the classical example, of those who lived before the
first coming of the Messiah, as under what is called the Old
Covenant age. Maybe the apostle Paul is the classic example of
being saved under what is called the New Covenant. But both men
were saved EXACTLY the same way. Both were saved by GRACE
through FAITH, in Jesus' blood sacrifice on the cross.
If you have not done so, you need to read and meditate, on my
study called "Saved by Grace" - Keith Hunt
…………………………
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