In the book of Leviticus, Almighty God was pleased to set
forth in offerings, sacrifices made. He set forth in picture,
in type, Our blessed Lord and Savior. As Brother Scott just
read in the book of Hebrews and the book of Leviticus, I'll tell
you this. For myself, I have been reading
through the book of Leviticus, the book of Hebrews. It comes
by the revelation of the Spirit of God vividly alive in what
Hebrews sets forth the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
you know, Scripture reveals, the blood of bulls and goats
never puts away sin. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
His blood puts away sin. His blood, without the shedding
of His blood. There is no remission of sin.
Almighty God, in these offerings, we are going to look this morning
and, Lord willing, this evening, I would like to just take this
morning and tonight and just look at the third chapter of
the book of Leviticus. The first chapter of the book
of Leviticus dealt with the burnt offering. There is no offering
that God was pleased to set forth that would perfectly set forth
the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one offering. There was nothing that was perfectly
set forth. In His offering, in the offering
of the Lord Jesus Christ, what was done, the suffering of His
soul, was indescribable in our language What He did, the work
that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished at Calvary, His Father alone
knew. In these offerings, though, God
has set forth the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we behold
Him as a diamond looking at the facets of Him. Our minds are
finite. He's infinite. We cannot comprehend
the depth. The burnt offering set forth
the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and the satisfaction of the Father
in the Lord Jesus' death. That the Father was satisfied. It was a sweet savor offering. The meat offering was the offering
that set forth the glory, the willingness, the perfection of
the Lord Jesus Christ in His humanity. The meat offering was
a meal offering. It was offered unto God, partaken
also by the priest, a picture that we eat of Him, we fellowship
with Him. And this morning I would like
to look at the offering called peace offering. Leviticus chapter
3, if his oblation, his offering, his gift, be a sacrifice of peace
offering, if he offer it of the herd, whether it be a male or
female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. He shall
lay his hand upon the head of his offering and shall kill it
at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and Aaron's
sons, the priests, have sprinkled the blood upon the altar round
about." Now let me just explain something. When this offering
was brought, as I said, the first night we looked at this, there
was a large tent that surrounded this tabernacle, a large outer
tent. Right inside that door, right
there, was the brazen altar. There it was. The priest was
standing there. An offering was brought and was
presented to the priest. That priest would take that offering. That offering was offered unto
the Lord. That burnt offering was offered
every day. There was a continual remembrance
of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fire on that
altar was to never go out. But that offering was brought.
So if this offering is brought, this peace offering, you bring
it. He shall offer, verse 3, of the sacrifice of the peace
offering, an offering made by fire unto the Lord, the fat that
covereth the inwards and all the fat that is upon the inwards
and the two kidneys and the fat that that is on them, which is
by the flanks and the cauls above the liver with the kidneys, it
shall he take away. And Aaron's son shall burn it
on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is
on the fire. It is an offering made by fire
of a sweet savour unto the Lord." The remainder of this chapter
repeats basically what we just read. And for the sake of time,
I'll refer to it during this message, but I won't read all
the passages. But there was two other things
that were brought out concerning the sacrifice. And we'll deal
with those in just a few moments. But this book, the book of Leviticus,
is a book, and I understand, believe me, how we can read this
and you read this and you think, well, it's just a sacrifice after
a sacrifice after a sacrifice, and I don't understand what it
is if we ever perceive and ever see the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ in this book right here. I'm telling you, it is a blessed
book of the revelation of Him. Leviticus. Everything within
the sacrifices laid down the mark of the holiness of Almighty
God. God Almighty is holy. How can a man approach God? That is the issue. How, Job says,
how should a man be just with God? Now you think about this. This is not a light question.
This is not an insignificant question. How can a man truly
approach God? Now in ourselves, we are Absolutely. Totally. Rebels against God. Sinners. Almighty God is holy. Holy. He will by no means clear
the guilty. This thing of thinking that you
can just approach God and just say, I'm sorry. Didn't mean it. That is absolutely
ridiculous. God is holy. He's just. And Almighty God is going to
judge sin. He's going to deal with sin. The soul that sinneth
is going to die. Don't think. Do not listen. A man that tells you you can
just walk down an aisle and tell God you're sorry and just say,
I don't mean it anymore, I'm going to give you my heart, let
bygones be bygones, let it all pass over. It's ridiculous. God Almighty must be satisfied. He's satisfied. Israel. And Israel of old, being a picture
of true Israel, was taught that God Almighty is holy and they
are sinners. Israel was taught that there
is but one way that God is approached, one way, and that He alone has
determined, has set forth that way in which He is going to be
approached. that Almighty God can be approached,
and approached in peace, approached in the infinite holiness of His
being. Interest me. I want to know. Israel was taught that any other
way, any other attempt to approach God was punishable by eternal
death. I told you that in the tabernacle,
it had a tent. It had an opening, the door. That's what it was called, the
door. There's the altar. The Lord Jesus Christ said, I'm
the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life. No man comes to the Father
but by Me. Here's that door. But that door
is a picture first of Him. That brazen altar right there
is a picture of Him. That priest that took that sacrifice
Sacrifice that picture of Him. That veil that was in the inner
sanctuary, the Holy of Holies. Big outer tent. Big one. I mean,
it was large. It was probably about the size
of this building right here. Sort of. That part of it was
that inner sanctuary. And only one time a year, one
time a year, the high priest could go into that inner sanctuary,
the Holy of Holies. Behind the veil, and behind that
veil, there was the mercy seat. And one time a year, one day
a year, He went in four times during that day, and I'll deal
with that at another time. I'm going to mention something
about it today. But one day a year, the Day of
Atonement, that priest could go in there, and not without
blood, And He would go in there and the atonement, the covering. Almighty God set down exactly
the way He was going to be approached. Israel was taught that the only
approach to a holy God is by the means of a sacrifice, an
atonement, a covering for sin. And that one must die in the
place of another. Now remember this. Without the
shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. The permanent message is this. Sacrifice for punishment of sin
and a priesthood for perpetual fellowship is the only way. A sinner needs a sacrifice. need someone take His place.
A sinner to have any hope before Almighty God must have another
take His place. If my sin be found on me before
Almighty God, if my sin be found on me, Almighty God must deal
with me in absolute judgment. A believer needs a priest. A sinner needs a sacrifice and
a believer needs a priest. The Lord Jesus Christ, our peace
offering. Today we consider a portion of
Scripture that sets forth the glory of our blessed Savior as
our peace with God. fellowship with God Almighty
through the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and peace within
our conscience. I want peace with Him. I desire
peace with Him. And I want to know. I want to
know that I have peace with Him. I want Him to grant me some peace
in my conscience, in my heart, Peace with our God, our peace
with Almighty God is established on the basis of one thing. We
dealt with this a couple of weeks ago. Our justification before
Almighty God. Almighty God, for me to have
peace with God, I must be justified, declared to be just before Almighty
God by the imputation of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ to me." Romans 5, verse 1 says, therefore, being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Justification is the declaration of righteousness justly founded
upon the imputed righteousness of our Lord to us. Now the peace
offering was not offered by one that was seeking or attempting
to make peace with God, but was offered as an offering of thanksgiving
because of peace that was established by the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians
1.20 says, having made peace through His blood, the Scripture
does not say that we have made our peace with God by accepting
His offer. He wanted to make peace with
us, men say. Men say, God wants to have peace
with everybody. God wants to establish peace
with everybody. But He can't unless you let Him.
Boy, that's the lamest thing I've ever heard in my life. That
Almighty God would want to make peace with me and would wait
on me to make peace with Him and satisfy the demands of His
law? Peace is established on God's
law being fulfilled and honored. Peace, having made peace through
His blood. Now, the way of peace, the heart
of peace, the heart of peace, was that verse of Scripture that
I quoted a few moments ago, John 14, 6. I am the way. I'm the way. When that offerer would come
to that door, this is the way God was approached. This is the
way. He would come to that door and he would bring that sacrifice. And that priest would take it
at the door. That was God's appointed way.
That door being a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the
Lord said, if a man tries to come in any other way, he's a
thief and a robber. I'll tell you something. You
talk about punishable by death. Someone tried it. It was that
outer court that I keep referring to. It was cloth. It was cloth
tent. An outer perimeter. You tried
to come in, slip up under. or crawl over the other way and
try to come in and make your own sacrifice, you're going to
die. You're a thief and a robber.
He said, I'm the door, I'm the way, I'm the truth. No man comes
to the Father but by Me. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is
our peace. He is our peace. This peace offering
was offered in thanksgiving for peace established by Almighty
God. How in the peace offering then
is the Lord Jesus Christ as the Way set forth? How is it? He said, I am the Way. Now you
know these offerings are a picture of Him. Well, okay, verse 1 says,
if His oblation, if His offering, if His gift, Be a sacrifice of
peace offering if ye offer it of the herd." If you offer it
of the herd. An ox. That's what it is. If
you offer it of the herd. The Lord Jesus Christ, as our
way, as our peace, is set forth, first of all, if the offering
for the peace offering be of the herd. An ox. He is our strength. That's what that ox set forth. Isaiah chapter 63. Isaiah 63 and verse 1. Isaiah 63-1. Who is this that cometh from
Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah, this that is glorious
in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength.
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Who is He who
is our peace? I tell you this, He is the mighty
God, mighty God. The Lord Jesus Christ is set
forth first of all in the peace offering as being our strength
Revelation 12.10 says, And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and
the power of His Christ. For the accuser of the brethren
is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is
our peace, is the mighty God. Matthew 28, 18, the Lord Jesus
Christ said this, All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. All power. How much does that
leave you or me? None! None! We have no power. We have absolutely no ability
round of our head, sole of our feet, putrefying sores, without
me," He said, you can do nothing! Nothing! Our peace is the mighty
God at this oblation, be it the herd, the ox, the Son of Man. Hath power on earth, listen to
this, to forgive sin. You know, we think lightly of
that. We read that statement right there, and we think lightly. of that. But you leave this world
without Him. And I'm going to tell you something.
All of a sudden, that Scripture right there will be vividly important. He had power to forgive sin.
Who can forgive sin but God? He had power to lay down His
life and power to take it again. That's power. That's power. The mighty God. mighty to save,
of the herd, the ox, Christ our strength. I'm weak, as Peter
cried, Lord. He was on that water. Lord, save
me. Save me. I can't save myself. Secondly, look at verse 7. If
he offer, and as I said a few moments ago, the remainder of
this chapter repeats basically what I read, but the seventh
chapter says, if he offer a lamb for his offering, then he shall
offer it before the Lord. Here we see Christ, God's Lamb. That's what Abraham told Isaac.
Isaac said, Father, here's the wood, here's the fire. Where is the Lamb? And Abraham
told Him, he said, Son, God will provide Himself a Lamb. Behold, John said in John 1.29,
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. If the
oblation be of the herd, He is the strength of our peace. If the oblation, if the offering
be of the Lamb, the Lamb as to His meekness, His submissiveness,
His gentleness, meek in His submission to the Father's will, willingly. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. No man takes my life from me.
I lay it down. Of this commandment I have received
of my Father, all that He has given me, I should lose none."
He is the Lamb of God. Meek. Meek before Pilate, the
Scripture says, he opened not his mouth. From a lad twelve
years old, Scripture said that he said this to his mother, Don't
you know I must be about my father's business? Gentle in being led to the slaughter. voluntarily offered Himself,
the Lamb of God, personally innocent, charged with the guilt of His
elect, charged with the sin, the debt of all that the Father
had given Him. The Lamb of God. God's Lamb. This is what we saw in the burnt
offering. The submissiveness. to savor
the submissiveness to Almighty God's will to redeem His people. And then thirdly, look in verse
12. If His offering be a goat, then
He shall offer it before the Lord. And then the remainder
of that chapter deals with that, the sacrifice. The Lord Jesus
Christ is our way if it be from herd, the ox, the strength. If
it be the lamb, the submissive, meek lamb of God. But if it be
a goat, turn with me to Leviticus chapter 16. Leviticus 16. Now, I don't plan to, Lord willing,
when we get to this 16th chapter of Leviticus, I'll deal with
this in detail. I cannot pass this point without
saying something here to honor of our blessed Savior. Here is the peace offered. It
could be an ox. It could be a lamb. It could
be a goat. In Leviticus 16, verse 8, the
Scripture says, "...and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two
goats." One lot for the Lord, the other lot for the scapegoat.
And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell,
and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot
fell, be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the
Lord to make atonement with him, to let him go for a scapegoat
into the wilderness." Now let me tell you basically what happened
here. On the Day of Atonement, the
priest would come in and a sacrifice was made first for himself. His
sense of bullock was offered. And then afterwards, two goats
would be brought to the high priest. And these two goats,
Scripture says, We're going to be cast. We're going to have
lots. Now, Proverbs 16, verse 33 says,
"...the lots are cast, but the whole disposing thereof is of
the Lord." This wasn't by luck. This wasn't by the luck of the
draw. The lots are cast, the disposing
of the Lord. These lots would be cast. One
was for the sin offering, one was for the scapegoat. The disposing
thereof shows that the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ was
according to God's determinate counsel. Men, evil men, wicked
men, men just like you and me by nature, took the Lord Jesus
Christ and they did just exactly what they wanted to do. They
took Him, as Peter said, you with wicked hands, took Him,
crucified Him. Or they said, the Romans did
it. Peter said, you took Him, you,
wicked hands, you took Him. But Almighty God had determined
just exactly what would take place by His determinate counsel
The Lord Jesus Christ was sent into this world to redeem His
sheep. He was sent into this world to
shed His blood for them, for the elect, to lay down His life
for them, to take their guilt upon Himself. And He did it just
exactly the way that His Father determined that He would do it.
He laid down His life. Our peace before Almighty God
when the Lord said, I am the way, the peace offering, set
forth. The way of strength is the Lord
Jesus Christ. The way of submissiveness and
meekness is the Lord Jesus Christ. And thirdly, right here, the
way of putting away sin is the Lord Jesus Christ. The lots were
cast. One for the sin offering. One
for the scapegoat. Lord willing, the next offering
we look at after the peace offering will be the sin offering, what
was set forth. But this goat, these goats were
taken, lots were cast, and one of them, if the lot fell on this
goat for the sin offering, that goat was slain, its blood was
taken, sprinkled. Sin offering. But then the Scripture
says, turn with me to Leviticus, Turn over one page there to Leviticus
16, verse 20. Up until this verse of Scripture
right here, it tells just exactly what the high priest did with
the sin offering. He took him, put his hands right
on that sin offering. A picture of imputed guilt laid
on that, you know, and that goat died. A picture of what Almighty
God determined was due sin. But then the Scripture says in
verse 20, "...when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy
place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar,
he shall bring the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his
hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him..."
Now you listen. I will tell you right now. I'll
admit to you, there is no way that I can set forth only by
the Spirit of God giving a revelation, a heart revelation of what actually
in type is taking place. What happened right here in type
actually happened in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ as the
substitute of Almighty God's elect, this actually happened.
Look at this, verse 21, Aaron shall lay both his hands upon
the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities
of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, and
all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat. And
he shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness,
and the goat shall beat upon him all their iniquities in a
land not inhabited, and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness."
Now listen, you want to know something about peace? Here is something concerning
our peace. The Lord Jesus Christ as our
sin bearer paid the debt that was due. Almighty God laid on
him the penalty, the debt, the guilt, and under the indescribable
justice of Almighty God, he died under the judgment of Almighty
God. And this other goat, the scapegoat,
The hands of that high priest was laid, and he confessed all
the sins, all the iniquities, all of them, all of them, all
of them. And that goat was led away. He
put our sins as far as the east is from the west. And Almighty
God will remember them no more. He paid our debt. Who paid our
debt? Christ, our strength. Who made
peace with us? Christ, God's Lamb. Who made
peace for us, with us, toward Almighty God? Christ, our sin-bearer,
who took our debt and under the judgment of Almighty God, paid
it in His own blood and bore our sins away. All of them. All of them. I heard someone
say, the only debt that I'll have to answer for or those that
are unconfessed. Those are the only ones I'll
have to answer for. You better hope you don't have one to answer
for. Because if you do, you have no hope. Christ, who is our peace. Here we see the Lord Jesus Christ
as our sin-bearer, our strength, our Lamb, our sin-bearer, the
One who took our sins away, who bore the sins of His people.
The significance of this today? The Lord Jesus Christ, God's
sacrifice, our peace with Almighty God. The Scripture says in Leviticus
that scapegoat was to be presented alive. He is to be presented
alive. And he shall bear those sins
into a place that is uninhabited. Turn to Hebrews chapter 7. Hebrews
7. Hebrews 7 verse 25. Who is He who bears the guilt
of His elect and has borne their sins away? Who is He? Hebrews 7.25 says, Wherefore,
He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by Him, seeing He ever liveth. That goat was to be presented
alive. Sin, guilt, the sins were to
be confessed. over him, and he was sent away. He ever liveth to make intercession
for them. For such an high priest became
us who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made
higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily as those high
priests to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, Remember
that high priest on the Day of Atonement had to make sacrifice
for his own sins first, had to offer a bullet first, and then
the scapegoats for the people, the sin offering and the scapegoat.
He'd need if not, the Scripture says, daily as those high priests
to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins and then for the
people. For this he did once when he
offered up himself. the guilt of all of God's elect. All of it. All of it. Now, this is some comfort to
you that believe. How much did He bear away? All of it. All. The Lord Jesus Christ, our strength,
our Lamb, our sin bearer, our scapegoat who bore it away. Here we see peace established
by the Lord Jesus Christ, our strength, God's Lamb. And then in 1 John 1 and verse
9, the Scripture says this, He made peace by His
blood. By His blood, He made peace. 1 John 1.9 says, well, let's
read verse 8, If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us. Now listen. Do not say that you
don't have sin in you. If you say, if we say we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves. There's not a person redeemed
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that's sitting here today
that has not the presence of sin. But the guilt of that sin,
the penalty of that sin, He has borne it. He paid it. He paid it. Now, what's the evidence
of one that Almighty God has called out, regenerated, and
revealed what He has done. What is the evidence? They believe
God. They believe God by faith. By
faith. Faith is the evidence of things
that are not seen. Without faith, and faith not
of yourself, it is the gift of God. Faith! Now here is the evidence
of those that believe God. Here is the evidence. Verse 9,
if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now let me ask you this. Do you
think that Almighty God, that the basis, the foundation, do
you think that the reason that God Almighty has forgiven sin
in His people is because they decided to act by their own free
will And you think that's the basis? The Scripture says that
He's made peace with His blood. He is our peace. But the evidence
of those that Almighty God has made peace for is they're honest
with God. And they'll admit what they are.
If we say we have no sin, confession or acknowledgement supposes or
reveals a new heart. If we confess our sins, man by
nature is a liar. Man by nature does not believe
that he's a sinner. The reason I know this is that
he will not cast himself, left to himself, upon the mercy of
Almighty God. Why? He doesn't believe he's
that bad. He's like the Pharisee that went
up with that publican. He justifies himself. It says
he prayed with himself. He prayed with himself. He said,
God, I thank You that I am not like other men are. I thank You that I am in a class
just about all by myself. I am sure not like this publican
right here. A man that has no guilt in his
own eyes before Almighty God looks on the outside. I fast
twice a week. Tithe everything. I'm not like
that sinner right over there. Confession is the evidence of
a new heart. Confession, the heart of a believer,
a redeemed sinner, shows, reveals, God Almighty has done something
for him. Confession is not the foundation, the basis of forgiveness. The blood of Christ is. Christ. Turn with me. Last verse. Psalm 32. Psalm 32. Here's the voice. Here's
the evidence. Here's the heart exposed of one
that Almighty God has done something for. I said last verse. I've got one more after this
one, and then I'll quit. Psalm 32. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered, whose sin has been atoned for.
That's what atonement means, covered. Blessed is the man unto
whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Let me ask you this. Are you
a sinner? Now, just be honest about it. Are you a sinner? Let me tell you who is blessed
here. The one who God won't charge with it. That's what it means. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute iniquity. And in whose spirit there is
no guile. David said, When I kept silence,
my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long for
day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me. My moisture turned into
the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin
unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will
confess my transgressions unto the Lord. Thou forgavest the
iniquity of my sin." Let me tell you the evidence of one that
Almighty God has established peace with. That man is honest
before God. I confess my sin. Thank you. If we confess our sins, it's
evident He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Almighty
God is not sitting here waiting on somebody to ask forgiveness
so He can establish peace with them. That's salvation by works.
That's salvation to your honor. That's salvation to your glory.
And He will share His glory with no one. I'm holy. Confession is not the
establishing of sonship. Confession is not the establishing,
the setting it, the building of it. It's not the establishing
of sonship. It's the expression of it. Now,
here's the last verse. Luke 15. Luke 15. I said that confession is not
the establishing of sonship. It's the expression of it. Luke
15. Two brothers. One of them decided
one day, both of them sons, one of them decided one day he'd
had enough of it. I'm going. I'm going to take my part. I'm
going to take off. He took his money, his inheritance. Scripture says he spent it in
riotous living. Luke 15. Scripture says, In due
time, He came to Himself. Came to Himself. It's a picture,
a type of Almighty God revealing to one of His own, because you
are sons, God had sent forth the Spirit of His Son, whereby
we cry, Abba, Father, because you are sons. Luke 15, verse
18. The boy said after he came to
himself, I'll arise, I'll go to my father, and I'll say unto
him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and before thee. I'm no
more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired
servants. And he arose and came to his
father, and when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him,
had compassion, ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him. And
the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven
in thy sight. I am no more worthy to be called
thy son. But the father said to his servants,
Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on
his hand, and shoes on his feet. Bring forth, and bring hither
the fatted calf, and kill it. Let us eat, and be merry. For
this my son was dead, and he is alive again. He was lost and
found. And they began to be merry. Almighty
God has established peace by the blood of His Son. And He
did it on purpose. He did it according to His purpose.
He did it according to His time eternally. I like to say time
when I say time. He did it in eternity. The Lord
Jesus Christ Our peace. And that's what's set forth,
first of all. And Lord willing, tonight, I want to go into the
remainder of that chapter and set forth what Almighty God has
set forth in these sacrifices by which the Scriptures say the
blood of bulls and goats never put away sin. That picture of
the Lord Jesus Christ set forth Him who is our peace.