Sacrifices..

Part 5 of 10

We've just seen the imminence of the New Covenant priesthood. But did you know that every priesthood had a sacrifice to offer? If a priest did not offer sacrifices, then he basically either wasn't a true priest, or he wasn't properly doing his job.

Old Covenant Sacrifices?

You may be surprised to know that God's sacrificial system actually began in Genesis. It continued on through the Old Testament, up until the coming of the Lord Jesus. Sacrifices and oblations were clearly ordained of God - atonement from sin was temporarily provided by the body and blood of a substitutionary sacrifice. Without the shedding of blood there was no remission of sins. It was blood that made atonement for the soul (Lev 17:11-14; Heb 9:22).

The coats of skin provided by God for Adam and Eve were from the death of a substitutionary sacrifice (Gen 3). The sacrifice that Abel brought in faith before the Lord was too (Gen 4; Heb 11:4). Noah built an altar of sacrifice unto the Lord (Gen 8). Abraham did too (Gen 28; 35). The Levitical priesthood continually sacrificed different animals (all with different significances) to atone for sin (Lev 1-7).

Clearly therefore, we see the Old Covenant sacrificial system served it's purpose, although God was never pleased with it (Isa 1:11). Primarily, these things were but a shadow of "the lamb slain from the foundation of the world", the Lord Jesus (Rev 13:8). The sacrifice of the sinless body and blood of the Lord Jesus on the altar of Calvary's cross was the supreme sacrifice of time and eternity.

Were Old Covenant sacrifices to be perpetual?

Jeremiah tells us that "Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually" (33:18). Does this imply that the Levitical sacrificial system would somehow remain forever, or be reinstituted at some point in a future Jewish temple? No. Those who teach the future reformation of the Levitical order do not understand the New Covenant. Concerning this covenant, Scripture says of Jesus, "Behold, I make ALL THINGS new" (Rev 21:5)! Simply said, Jesus would not die upon His cross to effect a New Covenant if it were only to be temporary and passing like all the others. To revert back to the Levitical order of sacrifices is to reject the eternal and perfectly effectual sacrifice of our Lord! Why would any sincere believer do that? People who teach such a ridiculous reversion do so out of the Old Testament alone. There are no New Testament Scriptures to support such an erroneous view. Primarily, this viewpoint is blamed on the misinterpretation of Old Testament prophecy, such as Ezekiel's visionary temple (Ezek 40-48), Zechariah 14 (concerning the Feast of Tabernacles), etc.

To be honest, the New Testament teaches the exact opposite: "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Heb 10:14). The Levitical order was forced to continually offer animal sacrifices, because the imperfect offerings could never "make the comers thereunto perfect" (Heb 10:1). They had to be re-atoned for, year by year. This was a corruptible redemption (1 Pet 1:18-19); it was utterly ineffectual! The only good thing the Old Testament sacrificial law did was usher in a better hope, by which we draw nigh to God (Heb 7:19)! Why should we ever revert to an imperfect, incomplete sacrifice? Jesus' sacrifice alone can save us "to the uttermost" (Heb 7:25)!

"For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb 9:13-14).

The perfect, sinless body and blood of our Lord Jesus would surely "cause the [animal] sacrifice and oblation to cease" (Dan 9:24-27). For the Levites, the day would come that any who offered an animal sacrifice would be committing an abomination (Isa 1:10-15; 66:1-4; Ps 50:10-14; Mic 6:6-9)! We are sanctified by the sacrifice of our Lord, "once for all" (Heb 5:10).

New Covenant Sacrifice?

Jesus is "the lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world" (Jn 1:19, 26). The sacrifice of God's Son is the ONLY sacrifice that God was pleased with, concerning sin:

"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb 10:5-10).

The Believer's Sacrifice?

We say yesterday that we are deemed kings and priests unto God, a royal priesthood. But what do priests do? One thing they do is offer sacrifices, and this has not changed. Part of the confusion with the supposed restoration of the Levitical order is the fact that sacrifices have not been altogether deleted from the scene. Rather, they have been elevated to a higher, greater, and spiritual plane! As we are noticing, this is true for most everything in the New Covenant. We will see, that even under the Old Covenants, the truth of spiritual sacrifices yet existed (Ps 107:22). Men were often sadly ignorant of it.

Concerning "sacrifices", of course we cannot perform an offering for sin, as was largely performed under the Old Covenant, that would be unnecessary. Rather, our sacrifices are spiritual sacrifices, based upon the once for all offering effected by King Jesus. Many believers may assume "praise" to be our only sacrifice, or our most important.. but Scripture gives us many New Covenant sacrifices. No one sacrifice is sufficient by itself for this New Covenant royal priesthood. Observe:

The sacrifice of thanksgiving: "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing" (Ps 107:21-22). "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thess 5:18).

The sacrifice of joy: "And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD" (Ps 27:6). We see therefore, that New Covenant sacrifices are largely related to praise and worship, the fruit of our lips!

The sacrifice of praise: "By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name" (Heb 13:15). Notice that our sacrifices of praise are "by Him".. we offer sacrifices of praise to God based upon Jesus' eternal sacrifice for sin.

The sacrifice of righteousness: "Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD" (Ps 4:5).

The sacrifice of obedience: "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams". Also read Romans 5:12-21.

The sacrifice of a broken spirit: "For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Ps 51:16-17).

The sacrifice of love: "But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Heb 13:16). Not only do we sacrifice toward Jesus, but we sacrifice toward our brethren too. With such sacrifices, God is well-pleased - love is the bond of perfection (Col 3:14)!

The sacrifice of lifted hands: "LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice" (Ps 141:1-2).

The sacrifice of giving: "Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God" (Phil 4:15-18).

Our bodily sacrifice: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom 12:1-2).

All Old Covenant sacrifices pointed to the ultimate antitypical sacrifice of Jesus and of His church.