The Sin Offering, No. 1

Colossians 1:25-29

COL-440

Our topic is "The Error of Legalism," segment number 52.

In military training, part of the course in preparation for combat experience is to teach men how to go out on a patrol that takes them into enemy territory. Sometimes paratroopers are dropped well behind the lines, deep into the enemy's territory. And when you are in a situation like that, one of the things that you're very much aware of is that you're in a place of danger. You're very much aware of the fact that you are in the enemy's territory.

The same is true for us as Christians. God has dropped us behind the lines, into the world system of Satan. And it is sad how often Christians lose sight of the fact that they live in the enemy's territory. To keep that in mind is hopefully to preserve yourself from injury. If you walk through life, and forget the fact that you are in the devil's world, and that he is in control of all the institutions, and all the influences that are taking place in his system, and they're all designed to bring you down as a Christian.

Any soldier behind enemy lines would think it a matter of madness to want to see camaraderie association with the enemy on some social terms, and to become part of the system. He knows that the result will be he that will lose his life. And many Christians lose their lives in the devil's world. Oh, they're saved, and they will go to heaven. But the allotted lifespan is never invested in the things of eternity, and the rewards that they will enjoy forever. They get caught up with the drudgery and the drag down of the world's system.

One of the ways the devil does that is to take the grace of God of the church age, and to depress it with legalism. Instead of working with the power system of the knowledge of church doctrine, and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit for the Christian who is in temporal fellowship, so that there are victories that the Jew in the Old Testament legal system never could realize, we fall into the trap of trying to appeal to God by something we do. And pretty soon, we're into religion, and not a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Legalism

In Colossians 2:16-17, the apostle Paul warns the Colossian Christians against this principle of seeking salvation and spirituality by legalism – the observing of religious rituals, and doing certain good works in order to gain divine favor and blessing. Paul says, in Colossians 2:16, therefore, let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink, or in respect to a festival, or a new moon, or a Sabbath day. He is referring to keeping the system of the Mosaic Law and all that was associated with it. That system is amazingly in power over many Christians, and over many church groups, and many individual Christians have never been able to shake off the Mosaic Law as a way of life – things which are a mere shadow of what is to come. But the substance belongs to Christ.

The Old Testament Mosaic Law gave the nation of Israel a by-the-rules, and by-the-numbers way of life. To be specific, there were 613 commandments, which, if they kept, would have demonstrated the righteousness of God in their daily lives, and their experience. The problem was that nobody could keep those commandments, because they had no power to do so except their self-determination; self-effort; and, self-willed.

So, the religious legalistic system of rituals of the Mosaic Law was not given to earn salvation, but to show how righteous God was – how absolutely perfect He was, and that we had to we had to rise to the same quality to go to heaven. We had to have, in short, absolute righteousness. Now the very thought is madness. There is no way anybody was going to do that. You had to be as perfect as Jesus Christ, Who is sinless. So, the apostle Paul says, "The law was never intended for that, but just to help you to see how bad things are, unless God steps in, and by grace, does it for us.

So, Paul points out that the Mosaic Law was merely a shadow cast by the future coming Messiah Savior Jesus Christ, Who would one day give each believer eternal life and absolute righteousness as a gift. The absolute righteousness of God is what was foreshadowed in the Mosaic Law. All that ceremonial system, and all those sacrifices, particularly, were replete with reflecting what we know under grace as a reality, and they only knew as a possibility.

Through this act of God's grace, since the church-age began, and the power system of the Holy Spirit was instituted, it is possible to have absolute righteousness imputed to us, and to become part of our lives in our daily experience.

The shadows were to be seen in that sacrificial system of the Mosaic Law. But the reality was to be worked out in Christ. There were five great, main sacrifices, all of which spoke enormously about God: what was expected; the nature of man; and, the problem. But they were all shadows. They were not the reality.

So, some people think that, by some ritualistic system, by repeating certain things, which is what is at the heart of the Catholic system – that you go through a sacramental system, and through doing certain religious things, you become acceptable to God. You neither become acceptable to God for heaven, nor do you have the power to be able to resist the devil. And that's why it is so easy for even religious people to be completely destroyed by Satan.

Now, it is true that the Mosaic Law showed what was right, and what was the way of God. It is true that the Mosaic Law said, "Honor your parents. And it is also true that, in the New Testament, that same principle is repeated, with the addition: you have the power to do it now. You can honor your parents, and you can't treat them with respect. And you should do it because it's the law of God, and you will have a long life, and you'll be prospered if you do it.

So, we're not saying that something is change in the character of God. That's not true. He is the Holy One. He now makes it possible for us to, of all things, live up to that standard.

So, Christians in the church-age, as members of the body of Christ, are not under the Mosaic Law way of life in any respect. There are under the grace way of life, with the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (permanently indwelling them), and enabling them to obey the righteous principles of the Mosaic Law, which the Jewish people knew, but couldn't obey.

These five sacrifices, that we have begun looking at, were visual aids if this perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as Israel's Savior. Three of these sacrifices were voluntary. And they were a fragrant odor in the nostrils of God, as that smoke rose from the altar. Three of these offerings were voluntary: "I choose to do it. It is my freedom. I want to do this for God. I want to make this sacrifice.

The Five Offerings

So, they would go to the priest and make these sacrifices. Number one was the burnt offering. This taught the doctrine of propitiation. The word "propitiation" means "the satisfaction of God's judgment." The burnt offering taught how God's judgment, which must bring death to the sinner, was satisfied so that He could give life to the sinner. Its emphasis was on the work of Christ in salvation. The burnt offering showed how God was free to give absolute righteousness and eternal life to a sinner who could not do anything to help himself. It was very good, the sins of mankind.

The second was the meal offering. This also portrayed the doctrine of propitiation. But the emphasis here was on the person of Christ Himself as the Savior. This is what we call theologically his "impeccability," which means that He was able not to sin, and He was not able to sin. He was sinless. He was without even the capacity to do evil. Therefore, he could satisfy the justice of God.

Then, third, was the peace offering. It was also voluntary. And this taught the doctrine of reconciliation – the removal of the wall of sin between God and man.

So, this morning, we go to these last two sacrifices, in order to demonstrate (and that's what we're doing) that the Mosaic Law was a picture book. It was an illustration of spiritual things. But you didn't get anywhere by doing these things. Two sacrifices of the Mosaic Law were compulsory. And they were not a fragrant odor to God, as a as the smoke ascended from the altar.

The Sin Offering

The first was a sin offering which taught the doctrine of temporal fellowship with God in dealing with your unknown sins. The sin offering was brought by the Jew to cover sins that he didn't know, so that his fellowship with God could continue. The second one, which we'll do later, is the trespass offering. This is also dealing with the doctrine of fellowship in your daily life with God – temporal fellowship. This is dealing with when you knew you did wrong – when you knew you had violated the law of God. And you went to Him, and brought the trespass offering as your confession and admission, and to receive forgiveness in time – not for salvation, but for your daily fellowship and walk with God.

Now, of course, your mental attitude and your spiritual submission, as the one who brings this offering, determines the acceptability of the sacrifices. The time had come when a lot of Jews were bringing in these sacrifices in a ritual manner, but their hearts were far from God.

So, this morning we look at the first of the compulsory for your unknown sins – the sin offering. We go back for our guidance on that Leviticus 4:2. This again is to illustrate the Mosaic Law teaching us spiritual principles. This offering was provided for the person who is guilty of sin without being aware of it. Leviticus 4:2 says, "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, "If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the Lord has demanded not to be done, and commits any of them." So, that's what we're dealing with here. This offering related to believers, who unknowingly have left what we call "the inner circle of temporal fellowship with God." That's exactly what we're dealing with here. We're dealing with our inner and outer circle diagram here (concentric circles). And just to review it, it is the frame of reference that's being illustrated here in the Mosaic Law.

The Illustration of Concentric Circles

This outer circle is the eternal fellowship relationship with God. You enter that at the point of accepting Christ as personal Savior. There is, however, an inner circle as well, and that is the circle of temporal fellowship. This is your experience. Once you're into the outer circle of eternal life, this is a relationship with God. So, Jesus describes it as a birth relationship, because it cannot be reversed. You cannot lose it again. But you can indeed sin, and what you do lose is the power of God working in your life. If you're not walking in this inner circle, you're not much different from any unbeliever. This is our positional turn, retroactive to what Christ has done for us. God rejected all human good at the cross.

We have this specified in Ephesians 2:8-9. You know it well: "For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that (referring to that salvation through faith) is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as the result of works, that no one should boast."

What are Works?

1 Peter 2:24: "And He Himself (Christ) bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin." And "sin" is singular – the sin nature: We died to the enslavement power of the sin nature, and live to righteousness – live under the capacity of the Holy Spirit, and the principles of grace-age righteousness. For by His wounds, we were healed."

So, we have a desperate condition, and God has taken care of it through Christ on the cross. And the result is that salvation is now offered to you. John 3:16 explicitly attaches that offer to believing God's promise to give you salvation on the basis of what He has done. John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

So, when you are saved, you come into this area of eternal fellowship. You are now, the Bible says, "in Christ."

2 Corinthians 5:17 puts it this way: "Therefore, if any man is in Christ," and that's what happens when you're saved). It's called the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it places you into Christ. He is a new creature – a new creation: "The old things (of Adam, and the enslavement to sin) are passed away. Behold, new things have come" – the new things of the life in Christ." A spiritual power system is provided for a believer of church-age Bible doctrine, when that believer lives under the filling of the Holy Spirit, in temple fellowship.

1 Corinthians 12:13: "For by one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." It is a terrible thing to be ignorant of what the Bible teaches. And there are lots of religious folks, very sincere, who are running around, seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit – thinking that it is some special experience, apart from salvation. No. If you don't have the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you're not saved, because if you're not in Christ, you're in Satan. And that's what the baptism of the Holy Spirit does.

So, immediately, you come into this wonderful area of the Christian who is in eternal fellowship with the Father. But then you also come into the inner circle at the point of salvation. Now, all is well between you and God.

Ephesians 5:18: "Do not get drunk (don't look for a high) with wine, for that is dissipation. But be filled with the Spirit." The baptism of the Holy Spirit places you into Christ. The filling of the Holy Spirit is the power system that operates.

So, here, at the point of salvation, you have trusted in Christ as Savior. You have come into an eternal fellowship relationship. You also come into this temporal fellowship, where you are producing divine good works. And it is through the Holy Spirit that you do that. You have the capacity to obey the Ten Commandments. If you are not in spiritual fellowship, the commandment to, for example: obey your parents, you won't do it. You can't. You are going to be a dog about it. It is because God has enabled you to do what you cannot do on your own.

A Spiritual Christian

So, here you are, under the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's what the Bible means by spiritual Christian. You're producing divine good works. But we have the sin nature. And If we do not walk with the Lord, and if we are not careful to attend church services: Sunday morning; and, Sunday evening, and live all week in that enablement of spiritual instruction (that spiritual food), and all the things that we encourage you, on your own, in pursuing the study of the Word of God – unless you are in that said, the nature is going to creep up on you. And you will fall.

So, here, this Christian sins. Ephesians 4:30: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." When you were baptized by the Holy Spirit, at the point of Salvation, into Christ, you were sealed forever to go to heaven. It's a done deal. Now, you are filled with the Holy Spirit by remaining in temporal fellowship with Him. How do you break that? It says here: "Don't grieve the Holy Spirit." This word refers to sin: don't break the moral code; don't disobey the call of God in your life; and, don't be thumbing their nose at God when he says, "Hey, Christian, I want you to do this with your time; your talent; and, your treasures. Don't be pretending you didn't hear. Don't be pretending that He didn't burden your heart. That is sinning. And that grieves the Holy Spirit."

Quenching the Holy Spirit is saying "no" to Him when he asks you to do something; when he gives you direction; when He tells you how to act with the time that he has given you; how to use your spiritual gifts in His service; and, how to how to walk up to that offering box, and what you should do there. He makes it very clear. Quenching Him is saying "no." Immediately. You're not walking by means of the spirit. You're walking now by means of the sin nature. Bingo! You're out of the inner circle of temporal fellowship. Are you lost? No. You're still in eternal fellowship. But now, you pray. That little ping you heard, was your prayers bouncing off the ceiling. You're not going to go anywhere. You need divine help. You need to make good grades. You need some physical well-being. You need some significance in your life. You need some guidance with those kids. You need some capacity, in some way or another, in your business, and in your employment. But you're not going to get it. God is sitting there, tapping His foot in heaven, ready to pour it out on you, but you can't receive it. You've just broken the power connecting line. Here you are. And this is the cardinal Christian. You're no longer where you're the spiritual Christian under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You are a carnal Christian.

So, what's motivating you? All of the lust patterns of the sin nature; all of the stupidity of Satan's world system; and, all of the trickiness of the devil himself.

The correction for that is very explicit. You won't hear this taught among Christians (I'm sad to say), as much as you should. It's a wonder, because here's what the Christian life is all about. You just ask yourself: how many times has somebody told me: "Now you're born again. That was John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9. You're in the family of God. It's a done deal. God has done this for you. And now grace has carried you in.

Confession

Well, the next verse you need to learn is 1 John 1:9, because you're going to sin. And when you do, you're going to pop out of that inner circle, and you're going to be right here, where every unsaved person is: influenced by the world system of Satan; the sin nature; and, the devil himself. 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins." In the Greek language, there are four different kinds of "ifs," as you know. This one is what we call a third-class condition "if." And it means: if you do; maybe you will; and maybe you won't. A lot of Christians never want to confess their sin. They don't want to say, "Lord, I've been really a dog about my time. I've been really a dog about my talents. And I've really been a dog about my treasures. And I admit. I confess it." And when you confess your sins: "He (God the Father) is faithful (that means that He'll do it every time you confess) and righteous (that means He does it on the basis of the fact that Christ paid for that sin)."

So, he's ready to forgive you: "He's righteous to forgive us our sins." Then comes unknown sins: "And to cleanse from all unrighteousness. Here we have the sacrifice of the sin offering: to cleanse us from what we didn't know we had done wrong. We were unaware of it, or forgotten."

The word "confess" means to "admit." It means "to site." It does not mean to be emotional. It does not mean to come forward and confess your sins before the people in church. Do you think somebody wouldn't do that? I've had times, here at Berean, when I've had people come up after a service. I thought they were rushing up to congratulate me for my natural brilliant service. And they wanted to confess their sins to the congregation. I had to say: "Not in this laundry, buddy. Sit down. Go and talk to God. If you confess, it's to the Father. And you might go to somebody that you've injured, and say, "I'm sorry for what I did." Whether they forgive you or not – that's something else. Your job to get back into this inner circle, and confession brings you immediately back into the grace of God, and into the blessing of God. And what does He do with it? He forgets it.

Now, you can be a chain-smoker, lighting one sin with the next one, then just eat your heart out over the fact that you've done something, or feel guilty about it, or say, "Boy, this is happening in my life now because I did this terrible thing." But when He forgives, it's forgotten. That's what forgiveness is: it is cast into the deepest sea, as far as East is from the West.

So, this is a marvelous system. This is current positional truth. This is our positional truth, retroactive, in Christ. And this is the position of our relationship to God.

Now, this is the whole background of the reality of the church age. The sin offering is the shadow. This is the real thing. Boy, wouldn't a Jew liked to have had a system like this? And I don't care how many times you step out of line, confession brings forgiveness. Is it a clean slate? Yes, I know that sins do have residual effects. An out-of-wedlock pregnancy will have a child. It will have consequences. But in comes the grace of God, with that confession, and puts you on a road to carry through. It gives you the capacity to start from there. It's not as good as it would have been, but you go on, and that's what confession is all about.

So, here the Old Testament believer, while he was born again when he trusted the coming messiah Savior, he was not free from the sin nature. So, the whole problem was so much more complex under the Mosaic Law because there was no indwelling Holy Spirit to resist the sin nature. And please remember that out of the sin nature comes the evil. What it produces there is evil, and evil is of two types. One is sin transgressions of the Word of God, explicit sin. The other is human good, producing what the sin nature gives. "Compassion" is the word of our society: human good – your human good. Some of the people who have been who spent their lives, who are not Christians, who are just soaked up in human good. And they are soaked up in more judgment when they get before God in hell: your human good; and, your sin. The greater you have done, the greater the judgment.

People think, "Oh, my human good – that's going to make it with God. No, you cannot be saved by your good works of your sin nature. So, in the status of carnality, the Old Testament believer was helpless to face his sin nature, and he needed some means of restoration to his fellowship with God. And their way of confessing was a sin offering. Unintentional sins were often due to ignorance of a commandment of God, or its application (failure to apply in a situation. And that's why 1 John 1:9 refers to "all unrighteousness." The sin offering shows that one is morally guilty in God's sight, even when he's sinning unknowingly. You can't say, "Wow, I sinned, but I didn't know that was wrong. Officer, Yes, I was driving 75 miles per hour through this 30 miles per hour zone. I didn't know it was a 30 mile per hour zone. Where is the sign? Do you see a sign? Who's got a sign? Where's the sign? This is just a city street." And the officer says, "75 miles an hour. Don't tell me. What's your name, sir? Show up in court." But the man said, "I didn't know what the speed limit was."

I have found, by personal experience that' it's better when you stop something like that, but you look at the officer and say, "Officer, you're right, I wasn't thinking." Don't say, "I was praying. So, I lost my concentration." Don't get holy about it. But just say, "You're right." It melts their heart. And they say, "OK, well. Just don't do it again." And you say, "Right."

OK, now, getting on to more important things, that's all the instruction you'll get on that. This is a big problem. God's justice has still been offended by the violation of His absolute righteousness, whether or not you caused it innocently. He abhors it. So, all has to be dealt with by God. His justice cannot just blow it off. It has to be paid for. And for God to forgive a believer's unknown sins, and retain His Own personal holiness as God. He had to have a ground for that forgiveness. And that's the punishment that was borne for that sin, and by the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only qualified substitute that ever lived. And that's what Christmas is all about. It is not Santa Claus. It is not things. It is about the fact that I was facing a terrible chasm of having to spend eternity in the lake of fire. And that fearful consequence, I've averted, only by the mercy of God, Who made provision to cover my sins, even those that I was not aware of.

Now, here in Leviticus 4, we have guidance for Israel to be restored to fellowship with God in several cases, very specifically. First of all, there is the anointed priest. Oh, boy, there's your high priest. They are the priests, and they're into sin. They're going to stand before God to represent you. Here, in Leviticus 4:3-12, you have the procedure for an anointed priest to bring the sin offering. Then in verses Leviticus 14-21, the whole congregation is guilty of sin, in some way or another.

So, there is a provision that was carried on in Israel for the whole congregation to get back in step with God. Then in Leviticus 4:22-26, the political rulers, and the civil authorities – they step out of line. And any time a leader is out of line, whether religious or civil, war, people get hurt. So, this is a serious matter. So, here, in verses 22-26, it tells how a ruler gets back in place. Then finally, the people as a whole, they're all potentially guilty of unintentional sinning. And in verse 27-35, that is taken care of, and the procedure for that.

The Priest

So, let's take a look at the priest, first of all – the anointed priest. Leviticus 4:3-12. And I want to read through this just to remind you, again, that these are symbols. This is a picture. You don't get saved, and you don't get spiritual through the rules of the Mosaic Law, but it does alert you to the righteousness of God. Now, we're dealing here with the priest, and specifically, the high priest. He's the only one who is the anointed priest. So, he's the high priest. He's the top one of the priestly class. And his is a very important, spiritual, influential position in Israel. These are the teachers of the commandment, and the representatives of the people before God. They sin. The sinning priests involved the nation in guilt as its representative. The anointed priest, in verse 3, says, "If the anointed priest sins, so as to bring guilt on the people." When spiritual leadership is out of temporal fellowship, then everything goes out of kilter. Then the influence begins to be worldly oriented, and the compromises fly left and right. So, if the spiritual leadership is out of step with God, then what hope is there for the sheep that they're caring for?

If your watch on your wrist shows the wrong time, it'll only misguide you. But when the town clock is wrong, the whole community will be misguided. And that priest's leadership was to reflect the true time, and the true situation with God. So, spiritual leaders, naturally, come under heavier discipline for sin because they have placed the congregation in such hazard as well.

The Lord Jesus Christ, in Matthew 7:1 makes this observation: "Do not judge, lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged, and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." So, the priest is responsible that he not be judging the people when he himself is out of step with a pattern and plan of God. So, the high priest has to bring the most expensive animal for the sacrifice to restore his temple fellowship.

Verse 3: "If the anointed priest (the high priest), so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer to the Lord a bull without defect, as a sin offering, for the sin he has committed." This offering: what does it signify? It is the type of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is what is spoken of in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "He (God the Father) made Him (God the Son), Who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." This bull represented the Lord Jesus Christ. And he was symbolically going to pay the penalty for the sin of the high priest (the spiritual leader of the nation.

The Temple

The procedure was to bring this bull to the brazen altar, which was outside, in front of the temple or the tabernacle (the holy place, and the holy of holies). And he would place his hands on the head of the animal, in confessing a sin, and thus substituted the animal to identify with what? The things that the high priest did, that he wasn't even aware of (his unintentional sinning). This is the sin offering.

Verse 4: "He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting, before the Lord. He shall his hand on the head of the bull, and slay the bull before the Lord. Then the blood was caught in a basin by the officiating priest, and it is taken into the holy place (the first compartment of the actual temple itself)."

Verse 5: "Then the anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull, and bring it to the tent of meeting." This represented the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 6 says, "And the priests shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil of the sanctuary." The temple itself (the inner sanctuary itself), was 45 feet long. The Holy Place was 30 feet long, and the Holy of Holies was 15 feet long. First, the Holy Place contained the altar of incense; the candelabra table; and the table of shewbread.

Then there was the Holy of Holies, containing the Ark of the Covenant. The priest (the high priest only) came into this park on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, once a year, to make a sacrifice for the sins of all the people.

We're talking about the priest coming into the Holy of Holies. The Holy Place was separated from the Holy Holies by a curtain. And the priest would sprinkle against this curtain, seven times, the blood of this bull. He's the spiritual leader. As you know, the number 7 in the Bible is the number of perfection. With this blood, symbolically, all guilt for that unknown sin has been removed. Seven is the number of perfection. Behind this veil, in the Holy of Holies, dwelt God. Here is where the Shekinah is kind of glory was. There was no candle in here. The place was illuminated brilliantly with the glory of God. And this is where God dwelt, between the two angels: the Cherubim – the honor guard angels, which were on this end and this end, with their outstretched over this box, which was called the Ark of the Covenant. It contained the tables of the Ten Commandments; Aaron's budding rod; and, a pot of manna. Those things get lost in time. But the ceremony still went on.

So, top of this is called the mercy seat. Here is where forgiveness was to come, on the basis of the blood, which was sprinkled on the other side of the curtain. The phrase "mercy seat" means "the place of propitiation." When the poor tax gatherer beat his chest in the temple and said, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner," he was saying, "God be propitious to me, a sinner. Give me forgiveness from this mercy seat."

Can you and I pray that prayer: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner?" Every now and then, some big evangelist asks people to turn to God and say, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Well if you do, it's an insult. God is propitiated. Sin is not an issue. Whether you accept the gift; the covering; and, the provision – that's the issue. But we don't say, "God, please, may your wrath be deflected from me." It is deflected. The question is: "Will you accept it?"

So, the veil, what is a dramatic feature of this division. And the blood was sprinkled there. What did the veil represent? Hebrews 10:19-20: "Since, therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and loving way which he inaugurated for us through the veil that is His flesh." And the most holy place is now open to us too. This veil represents the flesh of Jesus Christ. When He gave up His Spirit, and died physically, do you remember what happened? The finger of God reached down from heaven, and ripped this curtain from top to bottom, and it flopped back open. And to the horror of everybody, they looked right in there and saw the Ark of the Covenant. They saw the angels above it. They saw the place that only the high priest, once a year, would see. And you were in the very presence, where God had dwelt, and nobody died. Why? Because now salvation had been provided. God had been propitiated since.

Since, therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He has inaugurated for us, through the veil; that is, through his flesh. The sinless humanity of Jesus Christ on the earth demonstrated this separation of God from mankind. What God requires of everyone who would enter heaven, is seen in the sinless person of Jesus Christ: absolute righteousness. He is qualified. If you're not as absolutely righteous, as He is, you cannot enter heaven. While on earth, the humanity of Jesus Christ acted as available in his glory. He hid His deity from public view.

It came out one time on the Mount of Transfiguration. In Matthew 17:1-2, the Lord Jesus Christ pulled back the veil of His physical body, and the glory of God (His deity) burst forth through the utter astounding of the three disciples: Peter; James; and, John: "Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, His brethren. And they brought Him up to a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them. His face shown like the sun. His garments became as white as light." In the presence of Jesus Christ, Hs absolute righteousness just pours out of Him. Do you know what the Bible means when it says, "You are light?" We can't see it, because your body is covering it up. But when your flesh is removed, and you walk into heaven, this is how you're going to look: brilliant; shining; and, majestic light. You will appear as beauty, beyond anything you have ever imagined.

This veil represented the pathway to eternal fellowship with God. This is the veil which was torn by God from top to bottom, at the death of Christ, to signify that now we have access, as sinners, into the holy of holies. Matthew 27:50-51 tell about that.

This sin offering, with the seven-fold Paul sprinkling of the blood toward the veil, before the Holy of Holies, represented the perfect and complete sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as the basis of eternal fellowship with a Holy God. On the basis of that eternal fellowship, we can be forgiven in time. The Jew was forgiven in his unintentional sinning. So, my unintentional sinning does not cause me to lose my salvation, because that has been provided through the sinless humanity of Jesus Christ. My eternal fellowship is unhindered. I do not lose my position in the outer circle – only in the inner circle. But I'm still saved. But I am now carnal, and I'm now out of the blessing of God.

This is such a simple little truth, and yet most Christians do not understand this. Most religious people are far from understanding. They build magnificent cathedrals and religious buildings. And they go through all kinds of rituals, and ceremonies, and choirs, and lights, and furor. And they do not know the simple little principle of: "God, I was wrong. And I confess it. I express my repentance. And I'm going to make it right. I will change the way, and I will get back on track." All of that was possible because the veil has been torn in two. And we are able to walk in to the Holy of Holies.

Confession

Does that not require us to act in a certain way? We're talking about the high priest. Spiritual leaders are not the only one who need it. The people of God need to know that their unintentional sinning is taken care of when you confess the known sins. This is the thing that no Christian should forget in his daily life. If you do, you'll drag bottom. And you'll wonder why things are pulling and dragging along. But if you stay in that inner circle, you'll have the intuitive guidance of God. And pretty soon, you're going to be saying, "This is amazing. God gives me a thought. It's an intuitive guidance. It's humbling."

The first number we're going to play tonight, I think, is a thing called "Dashing through the Snow." It's a fun number, and I thought, "This would be a place to use it." It is opening tonight. I tell them that if they play well, we'll have a big offering. This will knock them to the offering boxes like you wouldn't believe. Whips are cracking. Whistles is a blowing. The horses are clumping. You hear the hoofs chomping away. And I looked under the sleigh. It was not there, because that's where my memory was. It was not there. I talked to the band last week. They said, "Yeah, sleigh ride." I said, "How do you spell that exactly – S L A Y?" why isn't it. Well, that was too bad. Finally, I came in here yesterday morning, and went back to the print shop, where we have storage of all of our music folders. And I said, "Lord, I really need that folder, and I'm missing the title. Where is it?"

Do you know what popped into my head? Dashing through the Snow? I said, "What?" And He said, "Dashing through the Snow." I said, "I think I'll try that." I walked over to the "Ds." Bingo! There it was: "Dashing through the Snow." And, because of intuitive guidance, you're going to hear it tonight (to hear, because we don't make any tapes). Is that an accident? No. Is that uncommon? It should not be. You're in the inner circle. You're in the place where God is doing everything that He possibly can do for you. He cannot do enough for you. So, don't ever think that you're going to out-give Him; out-serve Him; or, outwork Him. He's always ahead. The sin offering has made it possible for you to enter the glory land. Why not do it?

Dr. John E. Danish, 1995

Back to the Colossians index