Transcription
Okay, why the blood sacrifice? Why the blood sacrifice? For excellent, beautiful question. Repeat the guys, we need you to focus now. Excellent question, because this is one of the basics of our faith that we need to learn by the grace of Jesus Christ. Repeat the question for them. The question is, by RJ, why does God not forgive without shedding of blood? Of blood? That's Hebrews 9:22. Hebrews 9:22 says, without the shedding of blood there's no forgiveness of sin, remission of sin. Now let me show you why by looking at Leviticus 17:1. Brother, can you go to Leviticus 17:1? Bring it up for us. Leviticus 17:1. [Music] Okay. Well, here RJ, whoever asked, listen to your answer, and everyone else listen because this is basic theology. It's not advanced theology; it's basic. All right, I'm gonna read it. Leviticus 17:1 reads, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life." Okay, now pay attention. The, the word life, by the way, in Hebrew, it's the word soul. For the soul of the flesh, because the soul is what animates the flesh. When the soul leaves, your body dies, return to the dust. So let me repeat the word for life in Hebrew. Check it out: it's soul. So it's saying the soul is the, the soul of the flesh, because without the soul the flesh dies, returns to the dust. So the soul of the flesh is the blood, meaning when you drain the flesh of blood, the soul exits. The soul is what animates your body, but when you drain a body of its blood, the soul, by order of God, has no choice but to exit the body. When the soul exits, then your flesh returns to the dust. Okay, why the blood? Because when you drain an animal or human being of blood, that blood will cause the soul to leave the flesh, and then death occurs. The body returns to the dust. So, so understand, don't call me—wait, don't call me yet. Let me finish the answer. Wait for me to finish the answer, and then I'll call you. So understand, when you shed blood, the shedding of blood is the sign a life has been forfeited, a death has occurred. Now they call—dude, they're killing me. Oh, sorry about that, brother. Now you see why I lost hair; it's all in my nose, my hair. Okay. So when you shed blood, pay attention; when you shed blood, that shedding of blood becomes a sign a death has occurred, a life has been given up, a life has been forfeited. Everyone with me? Blood represents death, the forfeiting of life. Life has been terminated.
Okay, why then does he require blood? Write down Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20. Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20. It says, "The soul"—notice the connection with Leviticus 17:11—"the soul that sins shall die. The soul that sins shall die." Okay, what is sin? 1 John chapter 3, verse 4. 1 John chapter 3, verse 4. It says, "Sin is lawlessness." Breaking the law is sin. Sin is lawlessness. So what is sin? Sin is breaking the law, breaking the commandments. So if you break God's law by failing to do what he wants you to do, or doing what he forbids you to do, you sin. But when you sin, you must die; your soul dies. Okay, so now why does it require blood? Because you read in Leviticus 17:11, since we all sin, we all must die. But God, in his mercy, says, at that time, during the old covenant system, the Mosaic system, you can have an animal die in your place, so you can be spared. So now notice the logic in God's commandment: you are all lawbreakers, so you're all sinners; you deserve to die. But if you repent and ask forgiveness in my love and compassion, I will spare you. However, my law still must be fulfilled, that if a soul sins, that soul must die. But since I want to spare you and show you mercy and prolong your life, I'll allow an animal to die in your place. So how do we know that an animal dies? When you shed the blood of the animal and present it to my altar, that blood is a symbol to me that an animal died in your place, so you can be spared. That's why the blood. The blood represents a death has occurred for the penalty of sin. What's the penalty of sin? Death. But since God wants to show you love and mercy and forgiveness if you repent, he wants to spare you from dying, so he allows you to sacrifice an animal, forfeit the animal's life, and then bring the blood of the animal as a sign an animal has died—God, in the place of that sinner—so that sinner can be spared. All of which points to Jesus, because when Jesus's blood was shed, that's a sign that Jesus gave up his soul, his life, so our soul, our life could be spared. I hope that was clear. I don't know. I absolutely—and that's what we call substitutionary atonement. And, and uh, folks, the Lord himself did this to Adam and Eve in the garden when they sinned. Remember he says, "Death you shall die," but many people say, "Well, they didn't die immediately." No, someone died in their place. And here is what Genesis 3:24 reads. Genesis—I'm sorry, Genesis 3:21 says, "And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them." That's where the blood sacrifice took place in their behalf, as Leviticus 17 says, that God in his grace took a life of an animal in place of our life, so that we are atoned for. An animal dies in the place of a human, even though the animal doesn't deserve judgment. Well, neither did Jesus deserve judgment. And the animal is a picture of Jesus, that the innocent bears the sin of the guilty, exactly in order for the guilty to be forgiven. Because if the animal is guilty, then the animal can't die for you; the animal will have to die for its own sin and guilt. How can an animal be guilty and die for you? Because if an animal's guilty, then the animal's dying for its own guilt, and it cannot die for your guilt. That's why the animal had to be innocent, because it's a picture of Jesus, who innocent, doesn't deserve to die, but voluntarily dies. Because if Jesus was guilty, he couldn't die for you; he'd have to die for his own guilt.