Alright, let's open our Bibles
back up to Leviticus chapter 4. Leviticus chapter 4. Now, I've entitled this message,
Christ, Our Sin Offering. Now, if I were to ask you to
start the evening tonight by taking out a sheet of paper and
a pen and start listing your problems, Now, what would come
to your mind? What would you think? Some of
you might say, well, this is going to take more than one sheet
of paper. Some of you might say, well, I'll get writer's cramp
before I stop. But you know what? If you were
to reduce everything to its lowest common denominator and keep it
simple like the scriptures do, you'd really only write one small
three-letter word. S-I-N. Sin, isn't that right? Because there's the root and
cause of all our problems in some form or another. Sin. One of our favorite hymns that
we sing, the first stanza goes like this. What can wash away
my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. Oh, no other
fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Do you believe
that? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Well, that's what we're
going to study tonight or begin studying in Christ our sin offering. In the first three chapters of
the book of Leviticus and on to the next chapters, chapters
four through six, we've seen the offerings, the sacrifices,
the Levitical offerings, called the Book of Leviticus, the priestly
offerings, but therefore the people too. And these offerings
are very important to the life and the health of the nation
Israel. They picture that which is vital
to the life, spiritual life, and spiritual health to all true
believers, spiritual Israel. These offerings show how God
had dealt and still deals with his redeemed people. How does
God deal with us? We start off with the burnt offering,
and that offering was a picture where they brought the bullock
and they burnt it on the altar, a burnt offering. That was a
picture of a sinner's justification before God in Christ at the cross. Christ being made sin for us,
taking our sins upon himself. keeping the law perfectly and
going to the cross of Calvary and paying our debt in full,
leaving no point, no smidgen of that debt for us to pay. That's
what the burnt offering signified and typified. And then we saw
the meat or the meal offering, which typified Christ giving
thanks to God for what Christ accomplished, thanksgiving. Our
thanksgiving to God for all the blessings that he's blessed us
with in heavenly places in Christ. And then we saw the peace offering.
And that certainly was a picture of Christ who is the peacemaker. He's the one, he's the reconciler. He's the one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus who came in between as the mediator
between a holy God who had a just matter against his people because
of their sin. And Christ took care of it and
reconciled God to his people and then sends his spirit to
come into our hearts and reconcile us to God. Christ our peace offering. Now, you know, those three offerings
for the people were voluntary. But they were good offerings
and they were evidences of a of a sinner's value of the truth,
the truth of the gospel of God's grace. But now we come to the
last two offerings. One is called the sin offering
in Leviticus chapter 4. And the last one is called the
trespass offering over in Leviticus 5 and Leviticus 6. Sometimes
the trespass offering is called the guilt offering, but I think
that's a bad translation. It's a trespass offering. And
even though we're truly justified in Christ, even though we're
truly regenerated by the Holy Spirit, What these two offerings
show us, even today, in their types and their pictures and
their foreshadowings, is this. We still have a sin problem. Now, in the eyes of God's law
and justice, as far as our justification before God, sin is totally removed. We're going to see that. But
within ourselves, as an individual, redeemed, regenerated people.
And within our group, corporately, as a living body, we still have
to deal with this one big, huge problem. S-I-N. And we have to deal with it every
day and every night. Somebody said every waking moment.
No, every moment. You ever dream? I mean, think
about it. It's with us every moment. It never leaves us. There's not
a moment in time in this life that we as believers can honestly
say, well, that moment I was free of sin in myself. Well, that's true. You say, well,
but today I did my best. You still have the problem. That
right? It's there. Somebody said it's
like an old dead body on our back dragging around. Well, I
don't know about yours, but mine's pretty alive. Because a dead
body won't bother you, it'll weigh you down. But it won't
speak to you and bother you and entice you. You see what I'm
saying? Sin is alive and well on planet Earth. And it's there. And we have to deal with it.
And that's what these last two offerings, and they were mandatory.
They were required. for the life and the health of
the nation Israel. These offerings show how God
dealt with this nation in their covenant relationship with him
and in their relationship with each other. The first one, the
sin offering, had to do mainly with our relationship with God
in this matter of sin. How does God deal with us and
how do we deal with it in our relationship with God? And then
the next one, the trespass offering, had to do mainly with how we
deal with one another in this matter of sin, when we sin against
each other. Now, all sin ultimately is against
God. You know that. Scripture says
to offend in one point is to be guilty of all. And all sin,
even sin against each other, is ultimately against God. Christ
taught that. He said, when you neglect or
when you harm one of his children, even the least of them, he said,
you've done it unto me. All sins against God. But you
see, these show how God dealt with Israel, and they show how
God deals with us. They're pictures of how God deals
with His elect in Christ. As we're already redeemed by
the blood of Christ, our redemption is accomplished, complete, perfected. It was done so 2,000 years ago
on Calvary. That's right. And our justification
in His righteousness imputed, that's completed. That's perfected. And our regeneration by the Spirit
in the new birth, that's a one-time act. And that life lives within
us, and the Spirit abides within us, and His Word abides within
us, but we still have a problem. And we have to deal with it every
day. Now, when we think of these two offerings, the sin offering
and the trespass offering, there are some distinctions between
them, but there are also some similarities. Let me give you
some of these. Look at verse 1 of Leviticus chapter 4. It
says, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the
children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance
against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things
which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them.
Now, you notice there he says sin through ignorance. Now, one
great similarity in both the sin offering and the trespass
offering is that they both set forth in their glaring reality
the truth about sin. It doesn't hold back. It doesn't
gloss it over. It doesn't try to color it up
or perfume it up. I mean, there it is, the truth
about sin. Both of these offerings show
us this, that all sin deserves death. You know that? All sin
deserves death. Without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission of sin. Both of these offerings, the
sin offering, the trespass offering, show this, that sin still defiles
us. It contaminates everything we
do. Now, think about that. Even when we determine in our
minds and in our hearts, as motivated by the Holy Spirit, that we're
going to keep the law, that we're going to do good, that we're
going to be obedient. When it's all over, can we honestly,
before God and in our hearts, say that we've kept the law perfectly? Or that we had a moment of perfect
obedience? I mean, it still defiles everything
we do. The best prayers we pray. The best intentions we have.
The best thoughts we have. Sin is still with us. It defiles
us. And then both of these offerings, the sin offering and the trespass
offering, show this, our own inability to deal with sin. Sin is a problem, my friend,
that you and I cannot deal with in our power, in our goodness. He mentions here sin through
ignorance. You know what that's really talking
about. There are a lot of different views on this. But somebody said,
well, it's referring to sins that I don't know that I commit.
Well, that's so. You think about that. That's
why I opened up with Psalm 19 there. Let me just read that
to you again. David recognized that there were sins that he
committed that he really wasn't even aware of. And you know what
that means? That's a sin that just comes
natural to us. One writer says it's sins of
omission. And I believe that's included,
but I believe it's more than that. And this is what he said
in Psalm 1912. Who can understand his errors? Those are faults. Faults that
I don't even understand. Have you ever done something
bad and after you do it, you sit back and you think, why did
I do that? You ever done that? You know
why? You can't understand your errors.
Where did that come from? Oh, I just wish I could just
take it back. Words. You ever done that? I mean, that's
just stuff that just comes natural to us, you know. It's not calculated
out. It's not that you sat down and
said, now tomorrow this is what I'm going to do and then go do
it. That's intentional sin, you see. That's another matter. We'll
deal with that later on. But here he says, who can understand
his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Now, he's not talking about things
he did in secret. He's talking about things that
he's just not aware of. Now, I'm going to tell you something,
that's a real problem. You do things that are against
God's Word, against God's revealed will, and you're not even aware
of it. That's something that runs deep, isn't it? That shows you that sin is not
just a matter of what I do or don't do. It's what I am by nature. That's what these offerings reveal
here. You see, they both set forth
that sin is not only what we do, it's what we are, it's our
nature, what we do unintentionally, what we do in error, wandering
away from that which God requires and that which honors God, as
opposed to intentionally and conscious and willful and open
rebellion. And I'll tell you what, you don't
have the power and I don't have the power to deal with that.
Only God does. Isn't that right? We just don't
have it in us. That's what one old writer said.
Now somebody said, well, look over at Hebrews chapter 10. Let
me show you this. I'll just deal with this just a moment. I had
a lady tell me down south. She said, well, a believer will
sin, but not willingly. And she was referring to this
verse here, Hebrews chapter 10, verse 26. Now the context of
this chapter here, what he's saying here, begins in verse
25 there. He says, not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together as the manner of some is. In other words,
their habit of life, they claim to be believers. And their habit
of life was to forsake the public fellowship of God's people and
the worship of God. And it says here, and so much
the more as you see the day approaching, and it says in verse 26, for
if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge
of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. He
says, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation
which shall devour the adversaries, he that despised Moses' law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses, of how much sore punishment,
suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot
the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith
he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace. You know what he's talking about
there? He's talking about those who reject Christ. Those who
willingly reject Christ, there's no hope for them. My friend,
if you reject Christ and His finished work, there's no hope
for you. That's what he's talking about there. He's not talking
about a believer's daily life, whether he sins unintentionally.
Listen, we sin willfully. Believers do. But that's another
matter now. But here, back over in Leviticus
4 now, He's talking about the root of sin, the depth of sin,
sins that we're not even aware of and unintentionally. Now,
in Israel, now listen to me. What about this thing about intentional,
high-handed sin? Well, you know, in Israel there
was no offering for intentional sin. And what that means is this. Those who sinned willfully and
intentionally, the punishment of the law had to be given out.
Let me show you this. Look over at Psalm 51. This will
help you understand this, I believe. Look at Psalm 51. This is what
David meant in this prayer in Psalm 51. Now, when David sinned
with Bathsheba, and when he connived to have her husband murdered,
and when he lied to Israel, That was intentional. That was willful
murder. Well, there was no sacrifice
in Israel for that. The punishment of the law was
to be meted out. And that's what he says in verse
16 of Psalm 51. Look here. He says, For thou
desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. If there was
a sacrifice appointed under the Mosaic law, the Levitical law,
that would take care of this problem, I'd give it. But he
said, thou delightest not in burnt offering. Wouldn't take care of David's
problem, you know. What was the penalty of the law of Israel
against David's sin? Death. Capital punishment. And he says in verse 17, the
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite
heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Now we know the blood of bulls
and goats will never take away sin. We know that. But what David
is saying here is there is no prescribed offering under the
old covenant law to take care of his problem. Intentional willful
murder. Now you know something, under
grace, thank God that's not the case. Under grace. And that's just one of those
moments where you see the inferiority of the old covenant law. Now
we, as believers, sometimes we get in trouble and we have to
accept the consequences of our actions under civil law. And
that's true. And there's no remedy for it.
But thank God the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. We'll see that in just a moment.
Now both these offerings, the sin offering and the trespass
offering, both set forth that all sin ultimately, eternally,
and spiritually must be dealt with in Christ. There's no hope. There's no hope for any sinner.
And there's no hope for the cleansing from any sin, unintentional,
intentional, any sin, except in Christ. Turn to 1 John, chapter
1. Now, I want you to listen to
this. Right here, we sort of have a summary of what's taught. in the sin offering and the trespass
offering here in 1 John chapter 1 and 2. And I want you to listen
to this now. Now, he says in verse 7 of 1
John 1, talking about walking in the light, if we walk in the
light as he is in the light, that's the light of the gospel
of God's grace in Christ. Salvation is not by works of
the law. Salvation is by grace in Christ. The only thing that will put
away sin is the blood of Jesus Christ. Somebody said it's hard
to put away sin. It's impossible to put away sin
except by the blood of the crucified one. You see, baptism will not
put away sin. There are those who call themselves
Christian and they baptize infants and they say that puts away original
sin. Not so. Baptism will not put
away original sin. There are some who say confession
will put away sin. Not so. You see, God is holy
and righteous and just, and nothing a sinner does or is unable to
do will put away sin. Some say walking in an aisle
will put away sin. Some say giving a tithe, doing
penance will put, no sir, none of that will put away sin. What's
going to put away sin? Well, look here. If we walk in
the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another
and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanses us from all
sin. That's what takes away sin, the
blood. God's justice poured out upon
the Savior on the cross. Shedding His blood unto death
as payment for our sins, past sins, present sins, future sins,
intentional sins, unintentional sins, the sin nature, the works
that I do that are sin. His blood cleanses me from all
sin and His blood is the only thing that will do it. That's
right. And then it goes on. If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
in us. If we claim to have no sin, we're liars. If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, that verse doesn't teach
that the confession of sins puts away sin. He'd already settled
that matter back up in verse 7. It's the blood of Christ that
puts away sin, that cleanses sin. Confessing that is just
a testimony and evidence that I'm in Christ. And my sins have
already been put away at Calvary. Did you hear what Jesus said
to me? They're all taken away. Now don't
sing that if you don't believe it. That's what this verse is
teaching, isn't it? Your sins are pardoned and you
are free. They're all taken away. They're
all taken away. And he says in verse 10, if we
say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word
is not in us. In other words, if we say that
we have not sinned, and some people say the first part there
deals with the sin nature, the other deals with the product
of the sin nature of what we do, that may be. But I'm going
to tell you this, if we claim to be sinlessly perfect in ourselves
in any way, we make him a liar and his truth is not in us. The
only perfection that I can claim, and this is one thing that the
sin offering and the trespass offering both show, the only
perfection that I can claim is what I am in Christ. And if I
can claim perfection in any other way, then I don't need the sin
offering and I don't need the trespass offering. You see, these
offerings are for sinners. They're not for those who are
perfect in themselves. And somebody says, well, it's
just my old nature that's sinful. Well, let me tell you something. There's no hope for the old nature
then. If Christ couldn't take care
of those sins of me, myself, and I, then there's no hope for
any of us, isn't there? Somebody said, but the new nature
doesn't sin. Well, the new nature don't need a trespass offering
then. He don't need a sin offering. He's perfect. I'll tell you who
needs the sin offering and the trespass offering. The sinner.
That's who needs that. Because I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner
today. In Christ I'm perfect, but in
myself I'm a sinner. You see what I'm saying? You
see, the sin and the trespass offering represent Christ's work
to cleanse us in the sight of God from all our sins. And there
are also tokens of the fact that one day I will be personally,
in myself, perfect when I go to be with Him. That's why I
need His blood. You see, we do have two problems.
We have the sin and corruption of our fallen human nature, sins
of the heart, what we are. And then we have the sinfulness
of our works and our deeds that proceed from that fallen human
nature, what we do. But look at chapter 2 of 1 John.
Verse 1, he says, my little children, these things write I unto you
that you sin not. Now that's to be our goal. But
he says, and if any man sin, now that doesn't mean and just
in case you sin. That means because you are a
sinner, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the
righteous. He's our advocate. No man is
our advocate. Christ is the God man. He's the
one mediator. The saints, who are the saints? Every sinner saved by the grace
of God. We don't pray to the saints,
we pray to God through Christ. You see? And he is, verse 2,
he is the propitiation for our sins. Now that word propitiation,
you know what it means. It means the bloody sacrifice
that brought about justice and satisfaction. That's what a propitiation
is, the bloody sacrifice that brought about satisfaction to
God's justice. That's what that means. Has to
do with the sacrifice that's offered to God and God who is
pleased with the sacrifice. Well, what's it say here? He
is the propitiation for what? For our sins. And not for ours only, but also
for the sins of the whole world. God has a people out of every
tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation. Now, go back to Leviticus 4.
Now, prominent in the sin offering is one thing here, that the sin
offering in Leviticus 4 is not really dealing with acts of deliberate
evil, but with the sinful nature that prompts those acts. And
it shows how sin is embedded in us. It's so much a part of
our human nature. The trespass offering, later
on, deals with particular sins, the fruits of what we are, mainly.
That's the emphasis. But both these offerings emphasize
in type that Christ bore our sins and our guilt on the cross,
and he satisfied the divine justice of God. He is the propitiation
for our sins. There's distinctions between
the two, the sin offering and the trespass offering, and that
would be that the sin offering, as I said, emphasizes our relationship
with God and the forgiveness that God freely gives in Christ. We're forgiven, not just yesterday,
forgiven today, forgiven tomorrow. The trespass offering emphasizes
our relationship with each other and restitution when we sin against
each other. But remember, all sin is against
God. And what it's teaching here is this, a truly right relationship
with men can only be grounded in a right relationship with
God in Christ, and not the other way around. That's why when Christ,
when he summarized the law, he began, love God perfectly with
all your heart, soul, mind, and body, and then love your neighbor
as yourself. You see, only God can change
the heart. I'll tell you what. We think about all the conflict
in the world. Think about the conflict in the
Mideast. You know what the remedy of that conflict is? Salvation. If God were to save them all
and set things right between them and God, there'd be things
right between them. Isn't that right? And I'll tell
you another thing about these offerings now that it's important
that we understand. It's important that we understand
this issue of the guilt of sin. The guilt of sin shows up in
two ways. There's legal guilt and then
there's moral guilt. Now, what do I mean by that?
Well, legal guilt means that you're condemned. That means
you're living like a person on death row. Legally condemned
by the law of God. That's legal guilt. That's what
Paul meant in Romans chapter 3. And verse 19 and 20, when
he's talking about sin, those who are under the law, their
mouths might be stopped and all the world may become guilty before
God. Legally condemned in Adam, on
death row, the sentence has been passed by the law of God. Now,
for those who are in Christ, there is no legal guilt. How do I know that? Romans 8.1.
There is therefore now what? Know what? Condemnation to them
who are in Christ. Condemnation has been removed.
So you can't be condemned. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies it. Who
can condemn us? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
is risen again, seated at the right hand of the Father. In
Christ, legally, we're not guilty. But moral guilt is the guilt
of conscience. And you know the conscience.
Somebody said, let your conscience be your guide. or his conscience
is bothering him. Let me show you something about
that as pertaining to these offerings. Look over at Hebrews chapter
9. Now, here in Hebrews chapter 9, he's talking about the Old
Covenant and its ordinances, its sacrifices, and its offerings. The high priest going into the
tabernacle. He's talking about all the things
that the service that was required and given under the Old Covenant.
And he says that in verse 8, of Hebrews 9, the Holy Ghost,
this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not
yet made manifest while as the first tabernacle was yet standing."
Now, that tabernacle was an emblem of the whole covenant, the whole
law of Moses. And while that first tabernacle
was standing, that was God making known that the way into the holiest
of all, the very presence of God spiritually and eternally
was not yet come. In other words, Christ had not
yet come. You see, when Christ came, he fulfilled all that and
it was abolished. So as long as that stood under
the direction of God, that was the signification the Messiah
had not yet come. So he says in verse 9, these
things were a figure for the time then present in which were
offered both gifts and sacrifices." Now that's referring to these
offerings and other things that they were required to give. That
could not make him that did the service perfect. The blood of
animals couldn't make the one who brought the offering perfect.
And look here, as pertaining to what? The conscience. They
couldn't remove the guilt from the conscience. And it goes on, which stood only
in meats and drinks and divers, various washings, carnal ordinances
imposed on them until the time of reformation, the time of change. When was that time? When Christ
come and did his work, said it's finished. And the veil was rent
from top to bottom. But look at verse 11, but Christ
being come and high priest of good things to come by greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood he entered him once into the
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the
blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling
the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh," that
is, what he's saying there is this, if those animal sacrifices
and offerings, if it set the Israelite apart ceremonially,
and civilly under that covenant, if that accomplished that service,
look at verse 14, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal spirit, see he was doing eternal things,
spiritual things, not earthly, not carnal ordinances, but his
work was eternal and spiritual, who by the eternal spirit offered
himself without spot to God, purge your what? from dead works
to serve the living God. How's that moral guilt going
to be removed? How's that conscience going to
be cleansed? Looking unto Christ, the author
and finisher of our faith. That's what these offerings signify.
Looking unto Christ. You say, oh, I just feel so guilty.
Look to Christ. Plead his blood. What can wash
away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
That refers to my legal guilt. I'm no longer condemned. It's
removed. And that refers to my moral guilt
in my conscience. And I'll tell you what, if you
look anywhere else and find peace, it's a lie. Am I right? If you've got that guilty legal
conscience, and we sometimes do because we have to fight it,
and that'll come on us without knowing it, won't it? Looking
back in the past, we just can't get rid of it. Where are we going
to find peace? Where's that conscience going
to be cleared? You say, well, I was baptized when I was 12.
That gives you peace, friend, you're in trouble. You say, well,
I gave a good amount of money last week to the church. If that
cleanses your conscience, you're in trouble. You say, well, I
went to the priest and confessed. If that cleanses your conscience,
you're in trouble. You say, I've done so many acts
of penance. If that does it, you're in trouble. There's not
but one thing that will cleanse it rightly and honorably, and
that's the blood of the crucified. And that's why they were commanded
to bring these offerings, pointing them to Christ. Well, I wanted
that to serve as an introduction to the to the sin offering and
the trespass offering. We'll get into each one beginning
next week, but these These issues, I'll tell you what, these things
here, I look back at these things in the Old Testament and it just
really emphasizes to me and stresses to me that these truths that
are so old are so appropriate for me today. I mean, in my daily
life. Somebody says, well, why don't
you preach more practical godliness? My friend, there's nothing more
practical than this right here. You know why? Because I'm a sinner.
I need a sin offering. I'm a trespasser. That's right. Yeah, that means breaking the
law of God. I need one who can cleanse me from all those trespasses. I need Christ. And that's what
these offerings mean. And we'll pick up on each one
of them next week.