The Day Of Atonement

Q: What does the Bible say about the Day of Atonement?

The Day of Atonement is a significant event in the Old Testament, symbolizing Christ's ultimate atonement for sin. The Day of Atonement, discussed in Leviticus 16, signifies a day of sacrifice and atonement for the sins of the people of Israel. It involves the high priest, Aaron, entering the Holy of Holies with offerings, which foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. This day underscores the necessity of bloodshed for atonement, aligning with the New Testament teaching that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22). It illustrates how, ultimately, Christ fulfills the law by providing a perfect and final sacrifice for sin.

Q: How do we know Christ's atonement is sufficient?

Christ's atonement is sufficient because it was a one-time sacrifice that fulfilled all requirements for the forgiveness of sin. The sufficiency of Christ's atonement is emphasized by the belief that His sacrifice was offered once for all (Hebrews 9:26-28). Unlike the repetitive sacrifices in the Old Testament, which could never fully remove sin, Christ's sacrifice was complete and perfect. He did not just cover sins temporarily; He removed them entirely, as symbolized by the scapegoat sent into the wilderness, indicating that our sins are gone forever (Leviticus 16:10, John 1:29). This fulfills God's justice and provides assurance that we are no longer under condemnation (Romans 8:1).

Q: Why is understanding the blood atonement important for Christians?

Understanding blood atonement is crucial for Christians as it underlies the foundation of salvation and God's justice. Blood atonement is a central theme in both the Old and New Testaments, highlighting the seriousness of sin and the necessity of a Savior. As stated in Hebrews 9:22, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins, signifying that God's plan for salvation involves a just penalty for sin being satisfied through Christ's sacrifice. For Christians, grasping this doctrine assures us that our sins have been fully addressed, emphasizing that we cannot save ourselves but rely entirely on Christ's finished work for our redemption (Ephesians 1:7). Recognizing this cultivates a deep appreciation for God's grace and the transforming power of the gospel.

Q: What does the role of the high priest signify in the Day of Atonement?

The high priest's role signifies Christ as our mediator, making atonement for our sins before God. In the Day of Atonement, the high priest, particularly Aaron, served as a mediator between God and the people, entering the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for the sins of Israel (Leviticus 16:3). This foreshadows Christ, who is our Great High Priest, as depicted in Hebrews 4:14-16. Unlike Aaron, who was imperfect and had to atone for his own sins, Christ is without sin and has made a perfect atonement for His people. His role as the mediator ensures that through Him we are accepted and reconciled to God—this is foundational for our faith and assurance of salvation.

I share with you the things of
the Lord. I appreciate your changing your time and day for your meeting
tonight. I hope it didn't inconvenience
you. That enables me to be able to preach tomorrow night. It's really hard to get somebody
that you can really trust to I stepped in the pulpit and I
just was not able to get anybody to preach for me. So I called
your pastor and explained the situation. He said he would change the services
on Tuesday night. I appreciate that so much. I
also appreciate your prayers. I know you have been faithful
to remember me and the ministry down there in Dan Valley. Madison
in your prayers. I appreciate that so much. It's
been a very difficult and trying time, especially the past year. Many things have happened. Most
of them, unfortunately, have been very grievous to us, me
and my wife. But through it all, the Lord
has been gracious to us and has enabled me to still proclaim
the gospel and to try to preach the word as I understand it.
And it has been somewhat discouraging I see the attendance decline
and people leave, but, you know, you want to minister the Word
of God and the Gospel to people. You don't want to see them leave,
but sometimes that happens. But I appreciate your prayers.
I really do. Thanks so much for remembering
me. I've been able to go on radio,
which, that's been a blessing. I've been, really enjoyed the
time to be able to proclaim the gospel of the Lord upon the radio
station there in Madison, which is an AM station. And as far
as I know, I've listened to the others,
and the Lord has definitely, I feel like, enabled me to be
on that station to proclaim the gospel to that area beyond the
church. It's a wasteland, as far as I'm
concerned, concerning the gospel. There's churches everywhere.
There's Baptist churches on every corner, you might say. All kinds,
Southern and Independent. But as I just thought, I do not
know any of them that I feel like that they're being faithful
to the gospel. Scripture, Terry read a few moments
ago, and I was thinking about that. It's so true to our generation. They have a zeal of God. You
bear them record, they do have a zeal of God. But it's not according
to knowledge. They're seeking to establish
their own righteousness. And we see that all the time.
If you have your Bibles, open them with me to Leviticus, chapter number 16. Leviticus 16. As you know, there are many pictures,
types of Christ, His person, and His redemptive work that
are found in the Old Testament. When the Lord began to opened
my heart to understanding that the Bible became, you might say,
a new book to me, especially the Old Testament, because I
began, by the grace of God, to see, to study the Old Testament
in view of seeking to have Christ revealed and his gospel revealed
to me. And it's just been a blessing
to be able to to read, study, and also to preach Christ from
the Old Testament, his gospel, as it's pictured. Our Lord said,
Moses wrote of me. And we're going to look at one
of the books that Moses wrote by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit of God, Leviticus. is filled with types and pictures
of Christ. Now, we know that all the offerings
and sacrifices could not remove sin. They could
not take away sin. Hebrews tells us that. All that blood that was slain, or the
sacrifices that were slain, the blood that was shed in the Old
Testament could not take, could not remove sin. It could only
cover sin. And Christ, they pointed to Christ,
and when he came, he fulfilled all that was promised and prophesied
and set forth. in the Old Testament. He fulfilled
that, so ended in fulfillment of the sacrifices. And so while
we are not under in any way the Old Testament legalistic, call
it dispensation or whatever, why do we study? Why do we look
at the Old Testament? Why do we study the the sacrifices
and the offerings and so forth, but it points to Christ. They all pointed to Christ. They
all set forth Christ. That's why we study it. It's
one of the reasons why God gave us, to set forth the person and
work of Christ. They could not take away sin
or cover sin until Christ came course, his atoning death. You
know, God was establishing the fact, the truth, that without
the shedding of blood, there is no remission. God has never
forgiven sin without the shedding of blood. God has never forgiven,
never will forgive sinners without the shedding of blood, without
blood atonement. That's why the modernists and the liberals hate
blood atonement. Try to erase it from the hymn
books and take it out of the hymn I don't want to sing about
it, but it's all through the Word of God. You find that when
you meet with the blood. And we're going to look tonight
in our study at the Day of Atonement in chapter 16 of Leviticus. We'll pick out a few things here
concerning this great festival which I personally believe that
the Day of Atonement pointed to Christ and his work of redemption
more than any of the other ceremonies and sacrifices in the Old Testament. I believe the Day of Atonement
sets forth Christ and redemption more than any of the others. Now, you know, when you study
a a study of this kind, such as we're going to look at tonight,
study tonight. It's not necessary to press every
detail of the title in order to set forth, you know,
Christ and redemption. It's just like somebody said
one time about the parables. You've probably heard the saying,
you don't It's not necessary to make the parables of our Lord
walk on all fours in order to see the lessons and gain some
insight into the spiritual lessons there. You don't have to make
them walk on all fours. That can be dangerous. You don't
have to pick out of every little detail something that is a type
or sets forth something else. So I hope I won't do that tonight. I trust that I'll be able to
be correct and will properly interpret God's Word in this
type here in chapter 16, the Day of Atonement. But you see,
it's not necessary to do that to find lessons. You don't have
to press every detail of the ceremony of the ordinance to
find Christ. There's so much in here that
we'll not even begin to study all of it just for picking out
a few things tonight, in the time that we have together this
evening. And so I'm not going to do an exhaustive or intensive
study of this. I don't have time. We're just
going to look at a few things about it and try to pick out some things. And I trust the Lord will bless
it to our hearts and instruct us, and we'll be just further
established in the gospel as we study this. Let's look at
the Day of Atonement. Let's first of all notice the
high priest, the high priest. And the high priest here who
was in charge under God's orders was Aaron. He was the high priest. He was
the one whom God ordained to go into that Holy of Holies. that holy place. And he was only allowed to go
there at a certain time. He wasn't allowed to go there
except during the Day of Atonement, once a year, into the very holy
of holies, the very presence of God as God manifested and
revealed himself there. Only Aaron, the high priest,
could come into the holy place. Look at verse 3 of chapter 16.
Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place with a young bullet for a sin
offering and a ram for a burn offering. No one else was allowed into
the holy place. the Holy of Holies. And, of course,
that sets forth our great high priest. Do you have a priest
tonight? You need one. I need one. Thank
God we have one. Not a priest here on earth, God
forbid. Our high priest is in the heavens. He's at the right hand of God. is our great High Priest, our
Mediator. And through Him, and through
Him alone, can we be accepted by God. We have to be in Him. And if we're in Him, we're accepted. We're accepted in the Beloved.
He's our Mediator. There is one God and one Mediator
between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, our great High
Priest. So Aaron here sets forth Christ,
the type of Christ as our High Priest, who alone could come
into the Holy of Holies. And then I want you to notice
something else about the High Priest, and that is no one could
assist him in his work. He had to do it alone. Look at
verse 17. We're going to skip around and
In this chapter, verse 17, or chapter 16 now, verse 17, and
there shall be, now this is God instructing now, and there shall
be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth
in to make an atonement in the holy place. and there shall be
no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he, that is
Aaron, goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come
out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household,
and for all the congregation of Israel." No one could assist
Aaron, the high priest, in his work that God had ordained and
appointed him to do. It was his work and his work
alone. Of course, we can see how that points to our Lord.
I read in Hebrews 1 and verse 3, it says, By, speaking of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by himself purged our sins. Himself. He did this alone. The work of redemption was done
completed, finished by Christ and Christ alone. No one else
was sufficient. No one else was qualified. Only
Christ could perform this work, just like as Aaron here had to
be by himself. By himself purged our sins, Hebrews
1.3. And then I want you to notice
something else about the high priest there and here. And that
is, he laid aside or changed his high priestly garments. And he was adorned in humble garments. That is, he wasn't allowed was
appointed by God that when he would go in to the Holy of Holies,
that he would change his high priestly garments and put on
the garments that were worn by the other priests just for this
occasion. Well, that again sets forth the
Lord Jesus Christ who laid aside his glorious garment, and was
clothed in the humility of human flesh. That great chapter, Philippians
chapter 2, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal, made himself of
no took upon him the form of a servant, made in the likeness
of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself
even unto death, even unto the death of the cross." It tells
how our Lord Jesus Christ laid aside His glorious adornment
that He had with the come down here, humbled himself,
made in our likeness. Great is the mystery of godliness.
God manifested in the flesh. See how this points to Christ
and how he humbled himself to accomplish the work of redemption. Well, there's another thing here,
and I'll just make mention of it. Aaron had to offer, make
an offering for his own sin. It says, verse 6, it says, And
Aaron shall offer his bullet of the sin offering, which is
for himself, and make an atonement for himself and for his house. Now, that's where the type fails,
you might say. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not
have to make an offering, you might say, for himself. He was
not a sinner. On the cross, He became sin for
us. For you know sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. But He was the holy,
spotless, without blemish or without spot, pure, holy, undefiled
Son of God. So Aaron here, as a sinner, here in this chapter here, we
see there that even though Aaron was a type of Christ in that
sense, here's where it fails. He had to make an atonement for
himself and for his house. Well, let's go now to the offering.
We've seen a little bit about the high priest and how it points
to Christ. Now let's look at the offering,
which is found in verses 5 through 10. Let's begin reading in verse
5. He shall take of the congregation
of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering,
and one ram for a burn offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock
of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement
for himself and for his house. Verse 7, And he shall take the
two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon
the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the
scapegoat." and 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 to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before
the Lord to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for
a scapegoat into the wilderness." Let me just stop right there.
It says there that really it's actually two goats for one offering. One goat as he would cast lots,
bring the two goats, the live goats. Whichever lot fell on
was to be slain. The goat would be sacrificed
as a sin offering for the people. And then there would be the live
goat, which would be the scapegoat. We'll look at that in just a
minute. But let's first of all notice that the goat that was
slain represents, or I should say Christ is set forth here
by both of these. First of all, as the goat that
was slain and his blood was shed, there was Christ set forth as,
the goat set forth in a sense as a type of Christ as he was
crucified and slain and his blood was shed for the remission of
the sins of his people. And then the goat that was made
the scapegoat, Now, what happened next? Well, in verse 20—drop
down, if you will, to verse 20—we're talking about the scapegoat now.
We'll see this as a type of Christ, who sets forth Christ. And 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. Now we're going to see what happens
to the live goat. And 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 and shall send him away by the hand of
a fit man into the wilderness." Here you see the picture there
that Aaron takes his, it says, lay both hands upon the head
of the goat, symbolically transferring, as he's confessing over the goat,
the iniquities, the sins, the transgressions of the people
of God, the children of Israel. and all their transgressions
and all their sins, putting them, transferring them upon the head
of the goat. But he doesn't kill that goat. What does he do with it? A man
is appointed to take, to lead the goat out into the wilderness,
never to be seen again. Now that's important. Now obviously that goat would
eventually die out there in the wilderness, but that really That's
not the issue. One goat's already been slain.
And that, of course, that set forth Christ and his death. But
what about this goat that was led out in the wilderness? You
see, the sins of the people were transferred to that goat, and
the goat went out into the wilderness, never to be seen again. Their
sins were gone. Their sins were gone. The goat was gone, therefore
their sins were gone. How does that set forth Christ?
Well, you see that very easily. Christ on Calvary's cross bore
our sins. The Lord has laid on Him the
iniquity of us all. All of our sins were laid upon
Christ. He bore our sins. He died. He was put in a tomb. When Christ was put in that tomb,
He cast our sins into that tomb. They're gone, never to be resurrected. He was resurrected for our justification,
but our sins, if He bore our sins, if He bore All the sins
that He bore the people, that He bore all the ones that God
laid upon Him, their iniquity and sin, were put at place, cast
down into that tomb. They're bound never to be remembered
against us anymore. Who shall lay anything, Paul
writes, to the charge of God's elect. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, our sins are gone. Forever. Forever. Never to be resurrected. Never
to be remembered. When I was little, we used to
have some of these revival preachers come around, scare me to death.
They'd tell me on the Day of Judgment, even if you're saved,
so they said, God's going to have a big screen up there that
day, and He's going to review all of your sins. You used to
scare me. Well, that's not what my gospel teaches
me. My sins are gone. God's not going to remember my
sins and iniquities. Why? Christ bore my sins. He paid for them. A person, you
say. A person's in debt. Okay? A person's
in debt. The debt is paid. Marked, paid
in full. The debt, a person's debt has
been paid. Let me ask you a question. Where
is the debt? It don't exist anymore. It's gone. That debt's been paid. It doesn't exist. It's gone. It's been canceled. It's been
paid. paid in full. Our sin-debt had
been paid, paid in full. Who paid it? The Lord Jesus Christ. You see, God, in His infinite wisdom, has devised a way whereby He
can justify the guilty. He can forgive transgressors
and sinners, such as we are. And he can do that in such a
way which doesn't lower his holy law, his justice, his righteousness,
his holiness. That's the glory of the gospel.
that God can justify, justifies the guilty in Christ. And it's not at the expense of
His holiness and justice, you see. Not at the expense of His
righteousness. God still just and justifies
the guilty. Sins have been paid for. Justice
has been rendered. That means the guilty are made
righteous The unrighteous are made righteous because their
sin has been paid for. It's the glory, it's the gospel
that we glory in, the glory of his gospel, the gospel of grace. Well, that scapegoat now was
led off into the wilderness. The sins of the people were gone. The goat was gone, never to be
seen again. Our sin debt has been
paid. We're not under condemnation
anymore. We're not to be charged with
our sins and iniquity. Well, let's notice another thing
some more. I want you to turn over here
to Leviticus chapter 23. Pick out a A couple of more things here.
Leviticus 23. This is still referring to the
Day of Atonement. Leviticus 23. Let's begin reading
now in verse 26. And the Lord spake unto Moses, Also, on the tenth day of this
seventh month, there shall be a day of atonement. It shall
be in holy convocation unto you, and you shall afflict your souls,
and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord." Now verse 28, "'And you shall
do no work in that same day.'" Now notice that. For it is a
day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the
Lord your God. And whatsoever soul it shall
be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be
cut off from among his people." Verse 30, "...and whatsoever
soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul
will I destroy from among his people." Notice two times there
it is emphasized that there was to be no work done on that day. You rest on that day. You rest
from your labor. Now, that was true in that sense,
in that day as they rested from their labor. They just didn't
work on that day. It was a day of rest. What does
that point to? For we which have believed, Hebrews
4.3, for we which have believed Do enter into what? Rest. Rest. How that needs to
be emphasized today. We're resting in the perfect
work of redemption. It's a finished work. Can't add
anything to it. Don't dare try to add anything
to it. It's a perfect work. Christ finished
it. Believe and rest your soul. And that finished work. Notice the warning, verse thirty,
it says, And if you work on that day,
and doesn't it warn us that of the warning there of seeking
salvation by the works of the law as the warning, seeking salvation
by human merit, You put yourself under a curse,
a curse of the law. Cursed is every one that continueth
not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do."
That's a curse. I don't want to be under that
curse. And that's what our brother read a few moments ago, I believe,
in Romans 10, about seeking to establish their own righteousness
before God. That's works religion. All false religion is works religion.
You see, there's the true religion of the Lord Jesus Christ, which
is salvation by grace and all other. Salvation, basically, seeking
salvation by human work. But that puts you under a curse. We sing with Top Lady, not the
labors of my hands can fulfill the law's demands. Could my zeal
no respite know? Could my tears forever flow?
All for sin could not atone. Thou must save, and thou alone. Mr. Spurgeon liked to quote that
hymn, Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling. For by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified in the sight of God, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy hath
He saved. What a privilege it is and blessing it is to rest
in the work of the redemption of Christ. Well, in closing, let me add
this, that all of this, the Day of Atonement, had to be repeated
every year. It was once a year, but it was
every year. Every year, Aaron, the high priest,
had to go into that Holy of Holies and perform the Every year that
goat had to be led out into the wilderness and all the offerings
and so forth. Why? Because, as we said a few
moments ago at the beginning of this message, that it was
not possible that the blood of goats and so forth could take
away effectually Finally, take away sin. All that pointed to
Christ, but thank God we read in the Word of the New Testament
that Christ was once offered to bear the sins of men. Once
offered. I could come down here and do
it again. And I also read it says, but this man, speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ, but this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of
God. By what offering? He hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified." And all that had to be repeated
in the Old Testament, every year it had to be repeated over and
over again. But Christ accomplished once the eternal redemption for them that are sanctified. We rest in that. We rejoice in
that. And we study these types that
we might be further established in the gospel of the grace of
God through Jesus Christ, how God justifies sinners through
the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I don't know about you, but
every time I study this, every time I read it, It just further
establishes me and confirms me of the gospel of grace and blood atonement,
blood redemption. Okay, we'll stand together. You've got to trust that you
can find out what it is that you're looking for. You've got
to trust that you can find out what it is that you're looking
for. You've got to trust that you can find out what it is that
you're looking for. You've got to trust that you
can find out what it is that you're looking for. You've got
to trust that you can find out what it is that you're looking
for. You've got to trust that you can find out what it is that
you're looking for. You've got to trust that you
can find out what it is that you're looking for. We're hungry,
we need food, we're hungry for water, we're hungry for food,
we're hungry for water, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're
hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry
for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food,
we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food,
we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry
for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food,
we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food, we're hungry for food,

The Day Of Atonement

What does the Bible say about the Day of Atonement?

How do we know Christ's atonement is sufficient?

Why is understanding the blood atonement important for Christians?

What does the role of the high priest signify in the Day of Atonement?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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The Day Of Atonement

What does the Bible say about the Day of Atonement?

How do we know Christ's atonement is sufficient?

Why is understanding the blood atonement important for Christians?

What does the role of the high priest signify in the Day of Atonement?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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