The Sacrificial System
After God had chosen his people Israel, and rescued them from slavery he gave them instructions for the ordering of their nation in regards to family life, cultural practices, worship and government. Part of that system revolved around the ideas of clean and unclean. The center of Israel's worship was the very presence of God made manifest over the Ark of the Covenant. Everything in their society consisted of concentric levels of holiness radiating from the presence of God. The only way you could draw near was by being ceremonially pure. A person could become unclean through a variety of methods such as becoming physically ill, coming into contact with a dead body, or by committing a sin through breaking the law. The sacrificial system was established by God to account for the numerous ways in which his people would become impure or unclean. Sacrifices offered for sin atoned for their sin but did not free the people from the power of sin. Those sacrifices were also insufficient and had to be repeated time and time again. Ultimately, even with their sacrifices, the people on their own could still not do enough to deal with the problem of sin. There was no way that they could save themselves. To be an Israelite, keep the law and offer the right sacrifices was not a guarantee of salvation. Paul writes that, “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Rom 9:6). Those who would be saved and counted as righteous are those who lived by faith (Hab 2:2, Rom 1:17). Israel was not saved by works (the activities of Israelite religion) but by faith in God whose promises would be fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
The Atonement
Not only does sin wreak havoc in our world and our own lives, but sin carries with it an ultimate physical and a spiritual consequence. The first penalty is physical death (Rom 6.23). The second penalty is eternal separation from God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.” From the moment of our birth we are already under the consequence of sin (Psalm 51:5). Every person will eventually die a physical death. All of us are born spiritually dead (Eph 2:1), but those who remain that way will face the second death (Rev 21:8), which is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire. Through Jesus, the first consequence (physical death) will no longer have its sting or victory (1 Cor 15:55) as it is only temporary. And the second death never takes place, because prior to physical death we are already made spiritually alive. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:13 that, “now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” The remedy to the problem and consequence of sin is found in the person of Jesus. It is through the shedding of his blood that our sins are forgiven. In Isaiah 1:8 the prophet wrote, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” This prophetic image depicts the effect of the sacrifice Jesus made as he shed his blood for us. A perfect blood sacrifice was necessary in order that we might be forgiven. Jesus on the cross not only provided the perfect sacrifice, but he also died in our very place. This concept is known as penal substitution. 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” For all who believe in Jesus and trust him for salvation receive the forgiveness purchased by his blood. This means that at the moment of salvation every sin, past, present and future, is completely paid for. 1 John 1:17 says, “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Every sin has been washed away.