Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean.

 Haggai 2:10-14

Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. Haggai 2:14

I continue my study of Haggai - using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  For this morning, my focus is an unassisted review of Haggai 2:10-14, which the commentary outlines as the first division for Haggai 2:10-23, the next set of verses covered by a new chapter in the commentary.  Here, as the book of Haggai begins to wind down, Haggai reminds the people that it is through their sin that the people have become defiled and unholy - and we know that it is only through God who through repentance and forgiveness cleanses us of our sin.  Believers can rest in knowing that while still in their sin, God loved them and made them one of their elect and saved them.  God sees them as righteous in His eyes - imputed righteousness.  This is why Jesus had to come to save humanity....to die once for all of humanity for all times....to end the OT sacrificial system where the people needed to continually offer sacrifice for their sins to seek atonement. See also Hebrews 10.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace for me - saving me while I was still hostile and an enemy to You.  Thank You Jesus.  I am underserving of such grace and my salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 3

For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 3:19

I continue my study today of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is an unassisted review of Ecclesiastes 3:18-22, which is the second division of the commentary chapter titled Politics and Justice Are Meaningless without Jesus (covering Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3, and 5:8-9).  Here, Solomon reflects on how death is a fate that all of humanity shares.  Humanity also shares a common fate - our sin nature and our sin - as all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8). For believers, we know that death is deserved because of the sin we commit - all of us - see Romans 6:23.  Yet, because of God's love (John 3:16), Jesus Christ, in an act of amazing grace, died on the cross so that believers who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, are no longer slave to sin and have eternal life in Heaven. Amazing grace indeed - we don't get what we do deserve, but we do get what we don't deserve. Thank You Jesus for this amazing gift - the greatest gift of all time!  Accept the free gift of God's grace!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of amazing grace - giving me what I don't deserve and sparing me from what I do deserve.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love, amazing grace, and the gift of salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message today and every day.

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.  Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:7-8

I maintain a pause of my study of 1 Corinthians as I continue using DesiringGod.com's Advent devotions where I pick up on Day 24.  Here, John Piper describes - as the devotion title suggests - Two Purposes for Christmas.  Piper starts by asking what are "the works of the devil?"  To answer this question, Piper backs up in 1 John 3 to verse 5.  He points out that Jesus appeared, or became the incarnate Son of God in both verse 5 and in verse 8, providing evidence that the work of the devil in verse 8 is sin.  Piper then points us to 1 John 2:1 where we have additional evidence.  Hence we have the first Christmas (birth of Jesus) purpose: which is the means by which believers can defeat sin.  1 John 2:2 provides the second purpose: "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."  Thus, of course, Jesus, as He suffered and died on the cross, took the wrath for our sin that we should have received (see also Romans 6:23).  Piper then shares as he winds down this devotion that "[t]he upshot of this second purpose is not to defeat the first purpose. Forgiveness is not for the purpose of permitting sin. The aim of the death of Christ for our sins is not that we relax our battle against sin. The upshot of these two purposes of Christmas, rather, is that the payment once made for all our sins is the freedom and power that enables us to fight sin not as legalists, earning our salvation, and not as fearful of losing our salvation, but as victors who throw ourselves into the battle against sin with confidence and joy, even if it costs us our lives." Celebrate both of these purposes of Christmas! 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for both helping me defeat sin and for forgiving my sin - and of course for eternal life.  Thank You!  I am not deserving of such blessings and gifts.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Hebrews 9

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:25-26

Today I pause both my study of 1 Corinthians and my study that accompanies participation in a men's discipleship group (d-group) at my church.  Instead, I lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today explores an unintuitive concept for unbelievers - how Christ's death on the cross represents triumphant shame.  John Piper first shares the hope of the gospel that for those who are saved "a great and holy God can and does welcome dirty, unholy people like you and me into his favor."  Piper then explains how God does this, and he starts by pointing to Hebrews 9:25-26 where Christ's death on the cross was - like it was under the OT sacrificial system - a sacrifice of a perfect blemish-free life.  This sacrifice from the text, however, was unlike the OT sacrificial system as it was done "once for all."  This is a triumph because sin and death are defeated with this "once for all" perfect sacrifice.  Piper explains, again looking at the text, that if Christ had to die repeatedly year after year such an act would "look weak and ineffective" and it would not be a victory.  The result of an annual sacrifice of Christ would nullify the "infinite value of the sacrifice of the Son of God, [as i]t would vanish in the shamefulness of a yearly suffering and death."  Piper then suggests that when you combine Hebrews 9:25-26 with Hebrews 12:2, we see triumphant shame in Christ's perfect "once for all" sacrifice.  Piper concludes the devotion by pointing to 2 Corinthians 4:4 and praying that unbelieving readers of this devotion "see the light of this glory and believe."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and Your death on the cross represents triumphant shame and it is also a victory over sin and death for all who believe.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You give me victory over sin and death.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God[.]

Hebrews 10

 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God[.] Hebrews 10:12

I resume my study of Hebrews, picking up with chapter 10. This morning my focus is Daniel 10:1-18 and I am assisted in my understanding by the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary Series for Hebrews.  The commentary outlines five divisions in this text:

I. Insufficient Sacrifices (10:1): The sacrifices required under the old covenant to satisfy God's wrath for sin needed to be done repeatedly and continually.  

II. A Sacrifice Sufficient to Take Away Sin (10:2-4): Because these sacrifices did not completely satisfy God's wrath but instead only delayed His wrath, they pointed to a need for a greater more perfect sacrifice that is sufficient to cleanse our consciousness of sin (and to bring about obedience).

III. A Sacrifice Sufficient to Supplant Old Testament Sacrifices (10:5-10): Christ died once for all of humanity, and His sacrifice abolished and did away with the Old Testament sacrifices.

IV. A Sacrifice Sufficient to Bring Perfection (10:11-14): Christ's sacrifice not only abolished the Old Testament sacrifices, it also brings about sanctification and perfection for those who believe.

V. A Sacrifice Sufficient to Bring Forgiveness (10:15-18): Christ's sacrifice - by giving us a new heart - also cleanses believers' consciousnesses of sin (and bringing about obedience).

Thank You Jesus for Your sacrifice - for me!

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My Prayer: Jesus, You are a great God and You are sufficient in all ways!  Thank You for Your sacrifice and how You save and sanctify!  I am not deserving of such love - amazing grace.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

Hebrews 10

And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Hebrews 10:15-17

I resume my study of Hebrews, picking up with chapter 10. This morning my focus is Daniel 10:1-18 and my unaided observations of the text. Hebrews is written to Jewish believers in the church that still clung to the Old Testament, which of course they knew well as it contains Israel's journey as a chosen people, including its sinfulness, God's abounding grace and faithfulness to His covenant promise to Israel, and prophecies that pointed to Jesus.  The author of Hebrews seeks to encourage readers to see Jesus as supremely better than anything presented in the Old Testament, as the Great High Priest, as mediator for us on behalf of God, etc. In chapter 10, the author makes the case that Jesus is supremely better because He did away for the need for annual sacrifices to atone for sin.  The text right away makes the case in v4 where it says "[f]or it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."  The author then focuses readers on how God desires not ritual animal sacrifices but our heart as the Old Testament (multiple references) is quoted in v5-7. Jesus's sacrifice on the cross ended the need for such sacrifices. The Old Testament is quoted once again (Ezekiel and Jeremiah) in v16 where God gives His people a heart of flesh and writes His Word on our hearts.  For sure, Jesus is better!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are great as You are faithful and You reign supreme.  You died once for me and for all of humanity as a spotless perfect sacrifice - so that those who believe in You have forgiveness of sin and eternal life - what an awesome gift!  Thank You! I am completely undeserving of such a gift.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from such sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Hebrews 9

 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:25-26

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is Hebrews 9:23-28, as I lean on my commentary for the entirety of this text by way of introduction, and also a specific examination of the commentary for the first division - 9:23-26 which the commentary entitles "The Superlative Sacrifice of Christ." The commentary highlights the "sufficiency, singularity, and effectiveness of Christ’s sacrifice." Christ's sacrifice is described as better and superior to the sacrifices of the first covenant and Old Testament because as the commentary shares: "it is associated with heaven itself—the place of God’s very presence." The commentary wraps by then describing the "unprecedented" impact of Christ's sacrifice: it "dispenses sin, exiles it, places it under judgment, and ultimately defeats it."  The unprecedented nature of Christ's sacrifice is then described as being truly revolutionary for those reading Hebrews when originally written. The Jewish Christian readers at the time needed this book to help them see how Jesus is "better".

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who defeated sin and death and gave me an eternal inheritance - thank You Jesus for the victory You already won and give to me.  I am not deserving of such blessings and gifts.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9

 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:11-12

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is Hebrews 9:11-22, specifically on the text of 9:11-12, leaning on my commentary for its observations on both the entirety of 9:11-22, as well as for the first division covering 9:11-12, which the commentary entitles "The Superiority of Christ to the Levitical Priests".  The commentary, in its observations of the entirety of v9:11-22, shares how the author of Hebrews uses chapter 9-10 to summarize all that has gone before in terms of the role of the Old Testament high priest and the sacrificial system.  In 9:11-12, the author of Hebrews highlights the superiority of Christ to the Levitical priests.  Christ accomplished what the Old Testament priests could not. The commentary shares how Christ's death on the cross "emphasizes the completeness and eternality of Christ’s sacrifice as opposed to the repetitive sacrifices of the Levites....Christ only offered up one [sacrifice]. In doing so, he secured an eternal redemption for us and demonstrated the sufficiency of his atonement for those who obey him. This eternal security and sufficiency grounds our confidence in Christ and the author’s exhortation to endure. Once we are redeemed, we cannot be lost. Jesus’s atonement was once for all time, accepted unconditionally by the Father, and presented in the heavenly sanctuary." 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who took my place on the cross, and did what the Old Testament priests could not.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of what You have done for me - and continue to do.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent[a] that the Lord set up, not man. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”

Hebrews 8

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent[a] that the Lord set up, not man....They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” Hebrews 8:1-2, 5

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper seeks for believers to prepare our hearts for Christmas.  Today's Solid Joys daily devotion marks day 13 of Advent, and today John Piper once again uses Hebrews 8:1-2 (see also post yesterday) to emphasize how Jesus is our great High Priest, and unlike the high priests of the Old Testament, He is not just a shadow or foretaste of God but God Himself. Piper builds on yesterday's devotion by also using v5. Piper sums it up by saying: "Jesus deals directly with God the Father. He has a place of honor beside God. He is loved and respected infinitely by God. He is constantly with God. This is not shadow-reality like curtains and bowls and tables and candles and robes and tassels and sheep and goats and pigeons. This is final, ultimate reality: God and his Son interacting in love and holiness for our eternal salvation." Rejoice that believers have this final, ultimate reality of having the triumvirate Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for serving as the Great High Priest so that I could have life to the full now, and forever with You in Heaven.  I am not deserving of such a sacrifice - the greatest gift of all time.  My sin is great it continues.  Please forgive me, help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Hebrews 9

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:25-26

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper examines Jesus' perfect sacrifice of Himself on the cross, and he contrasts Jesus' sacrifice with that of the Jewish high priests in the Old Testament.  Unlike the Jewish high priests, who "came into the holy place yearly with animal sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people," Jesus only had to die once - His sacrifice was perfect - done for all humanity for all times.  Piper points out how the author of Hebrews underscores this point by describing how it is "unthinkable" it would be for Jesus to have to sacrifice Himself yearly as the Jewish high priests did in bringing their sacrifices yearly. Piper shares how this is unthinkable "[b]ecause it would make the death of the Son of God look weak and ineffective. If it has to be repeated year after year for centuries, where would be the triumph? Where would we see the infinite value of the sacrifice of the Son of God? It would vanish in the shamefulness of a yearly suffering and death."  Piper then wraps up the devotion with an exhortation to be encouraged and not take "for granted that there should be a welcome for sinners in heaven....There was shame in the cross, but it was triumphant shame. “[Jesus despised] the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). This is the gospel of the glory of Christ, the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). I [John Piper] pray that no matter how dirty or unholy with sin you are, you will see the light of this glory and believe."  Be encouraged!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who died for me and for all of humanity for all of time as a perfect sacrifice for my sins - so that I could have life now in abundance and for eternity.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a God and such blessings!  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Leviticus 16

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter fourteen - God Forgives and Removes Sin - covering Leviticus 16:1-34, looking specifically at the fifth theme for the chapter - Jesus is God's Offer of Atonement and Removal of Sin.  Here, although one might believe the commentary is stating the obvious, it is nonetheless important to see how the commentary uses New Testament scripture to demonstrate how Jesus's death on the cross represents the perfect sacrifice that has no equal relative to the sacrificial system laid out in Leviticus.  The commentary first points us to Hebrews 7-10, where we see how, "in detail how Jesus' death on the cross supersedes the Day of Atonement and all the old covenant sacrifices":

• Hebrews 9:12: because Jesus is eternal, His death on the cross represents an eternal redemption, not something that must be done repeatedly as described in Leviticus
  
• Hebrews 9:24: versus the Old Testament priests who entered an earthly tent to meet with God, Jesus offered Himself in the presence of God Himself
• Hebrews 9:7, 7:26-27: the Old Testament priests offered sacrifices for their own sins, but Jesus had no sin, so no sacrifice was necessary for sins that were not committed
• Hebrews 9:25-26, 10:11-12: Jesus died once and for all, eliminating the need for repeated sacrifices
• Hebrews 10:1, 8:13, 10:9: Jesus fulfilled the law and abolished the Old Testament sacrifices that were only a "shadow of the good things to come"

The commentary also refers us to 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 3:18, and 1 John 4:10 as additional scriptural examples of how Jesus serves as God's perfect offer of atonement and removal of sin. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who died for my sins - even though You led a perfect sinless life.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a sacrifice - the greatest gift of grace.  My sin of harshness towards others continues as do other sins.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sins towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

Leviticus 16

And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. Leviticus 16:32-33

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter fourteen - God Forgives and Removes Sin - covering Leviticus 16:1-34, looking specifically at the third theme for the chapter - God Offers Atonement for Sin.  Here, the commentary starts by stating that "atonement" appears fifteen times in Leviticus 16.  Atonement is required by God for our sin - it is, according to the commentary, "doing what God says is necessary to reconcile us to Him."  The commentary also talks about the role of judges in God's justice.  It first describes the role of judge in Israel's history (see Exodus 23:6-8 and Deuteronomy 1:16-17).  It then discusses how sin must be punished by the judge and it states that "[a] judge who lets a guilty person go free with no punishment for his wrongdoing is not a good judge; he is not upholding justice."  The commentary then moves to how God solves the "tension between His justice and mercy.  However, God must let guilty people go free if He is going to save guilty sinners like us.  God is merciful and loving, so He doesn't want us to perish for our sin....God expressed His justice against sin in the death of the sacrifice, and God expressed His mercy to the sinner by allowing the sacrifice to substitute for the sinner....The old covenant sacrifices atoned for sin, they taught the world the meaning of sacrificial atonement, and they prepared the world for the sacrifice of Jesus."  See also this post from DesiringGod.com.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and You provided the "once and for all" sacrifice for me and for all of humanity!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such an incredible gift of grace.  My sin of worry, etc. continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

Leviticus 4

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Hebrews 7:27

This evening, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing with chapter four - How God Deals with Sin - covering Leviticus 4:1-35, looking specifically at the theme Jesus Fulfills the Old Covenant Sacrifices for Sin. Here, my commentary focuses on how even as God commanded the Israelites to follow the sacrificial system as written in Leviticus, "God knew that He intended the levitical sacrificial system to be temporary.  God knew His people would corrupt His sacrifices." Ultimately, as my commentary goes further, "they went through the motions as if the ritual itself was sufficient to atone for sin, like someone attending church with the assumption that their mere presence in the building means that all is well with them spiritually."  The commentary refers to "legalism" and "ritualism" as over-emphasis on the "doing" of the letter of the law without concern to an appropriate heart condition that seeks to love God first and foremost and to glorify Him for who He is and what He has done. The commentary also raises an important question which is "why didn't God simply send His Son immediately after Adam and Eve's sin?"  The commentary responds by stating God intended to demonstrate a powerful lesson that was to be clear - NONE of us are able to be righteous without God and we also ALL need God to be reconciled to Him as our sin separates us from Him.  

The commentary then moves to describe how God's lessons regarding sacrifice prepared the way for Jesus.  In Leviticus, we see several types of sacrificial offerings - burnt, grain, peace/fellowship, purification - to demonstrate that no single sacrifice was sufficient and that even together such a system was imperfect as it was offered by humans.  The commentary points to several verses, including Hebrews 7:27, where it is stated that Christ died once for all and became the perfect sacrifice and atonement for all sin, for all of humanity, for all of eternity. He did this so that just so that we could have a path to atonement and reconciliation with Him - what an act of grace...amazing grace!

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You offered Yourself and died on the cross so that I could have forgiveness from sin and be reconciled to You - amazing!  The greatest gift of all time.  I am not deserving of that or any other blessing You pour out for me.  Thank You Jesus.  Yet my sin continues...worry, gossip, harshness with others.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.