Costly Grace
I
have a number of thoughts running through my head as I read Leviticus 5 and
research the passage. First, though, let
me say that sin is apparently a costly thing to get rid of. We know this truth, of course. But just think about the fact that we have talked
about sacrifices – death of animals – to remove sin.
While
I am grateful to live in the post-cross era, I do think we lose something in
the post-sacrifice era as well. Sin is
not so costly anymore. Or, perhaps more
properly stated, sin is no longer perceived as costly. 2,000 years after an innocent man bore the
sin of the world, the price to have our sin removed can be easily discussed,
debated, assumed, and unfortunately just as easily dismissed. I guess it goes back to proclaiming cheap
grace versus costly grace. Good old
Bonheoffer pays us a visit again as he should.
I
am sure those animals back in the day didn’t think sin was easily atoned. I doubt the shepherds and the flock owners
didn’t think it was so easily gotten rid of, either. The priests who were doing sacrifice after
sacrifice likely didn’t think of it as an easy process. So why in our modern world are we so ready to
fall into the idea that sin is easily dealt with? Why do we give it such a passing glance?
A Proper Order
The
next thought that I had as I read through this passage was that you will notice
that the burnt offering couldn’t be performed until the sin offering was
done. See the example of the turtledoves
in Leviticus 5:7-10. It makes sense that
we must admit our sin before we can be forgiven of it. It makes sense that confession must precede
repentance and forgiveness. It makes
sense that we must be cleansed of our sin before truly being able to give
praise to God.
In
liturgical churches, this is precisely why we begin our service in confession
before giving praise to God, before hearing from His Word, and before remembering
His Son’s death and resurrection. Our
worship begins in confession as it should.
The same is true about the sacrificial system as well.
On
that note, I will leave you with a quote from my research today. I thought this quote was so powerful that
rather than try and restate it in my own thoughts I would simply give it
straight for all to read. It comes from
Warren Wiersbe’s outlines to the Old Testament:
“It is
interesting to look at the order of these sacrifices as they are recorded in
the Bible. God begins with the burnt offering, the complete consecration of His
Son to the work of redemption, for this is where the plan of salvation begins
in eternity past. But from man’s point of view, the order is reversed. First,
we see ourselves as having committed sins of various kinds, and we realize that
we are in debt to God and man. This is the trespass offering. But as the work
of conviction continues, we realize that we are sinners—our very nature is
sinful! This is the sin offering. Then the Spirit reveals Christ to us, the One
who made peace by the blood of His cross, and we discover the peace offering. As we grow in grace, we come to understand the
perfections of our Lord, and that we are “accepted in the Beloved”; this is the
meal offering. The result of all of this must be our complete consecration to
the Lord—the burnt offering.”
I
think that is a neat way to think on and consider the sacrificial system
presented here in Leviticus. We
sin. We realize our debt and make
atonement for that sin. Then we realize
our nature. We turn to God and find we
can have peace with Him. We are accepted
into His family and as we become the person of His creation and no longer a
person of this world we truly are a living sacrifice to the Father.
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