SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). What do we mean by the word, ‘sin’?
(2). What do we mean by the word, ‘purification’?
(3). What do we mean by the word, ‘atonement’?
(4). What did this offer mean to the Hebrew people?
(5). What does this offer mean to me?
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• These are some actual business signs,
• That were used to advertise to the customer the skills of the shop owner.
• At on Optometrist’s shop:
• "If you don’t see what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place."
• On a taxidermist’s window: "We really know our stuff."
• In a Podiatrist’s window: "Time wounds all heels."
• On a butcher’s window: "Let me meat your needs."
• Outside an exhaust/muffler garage: "No appointment necessary. We’ll hear you coming."
• On the side of a rubbish/garbage truck: "We’ve got what it takes to take what you’ve got."
• TRANSITION:
• Question: If God had a sign outside his office, I wonder what it might say?
• Answer: How about, “I can’t fix it until it is broken.”
• The book of Leviticus is all about God fixing things,
• The way he fixes things is simple.
• He diagnoses the problem and then gives the solution.
This morning we are looking at the fourth offering given in the book of Leviticus.
• As with previous offerings it has been given various names.
• The sin offering or the purification offering.
• Purification offering is a better name.
(1). What do we mean by the word, ‘sin’?
• There are about two dozen words for sin in the Bible, depending on how you count.
• Each underscores a different aspect of sin.
• In English examples would be… trespass, transgression, lawlessness / iniquity, debt,
• Each word highlights a different characteristic of sin.
• e.g., Transgression is breaking the law of God.
• e.g., Iniquity is morally wrong behaviour.
Whatever word in English or in the original languages of the Bible (Hebrew & Greek), sin is always two things:
• The ROOT of sin is a wrong attitude to God – “my will and way not yours.”
• Opposite of the Lord’s prayer, “Your will be done.”
• Danish theologian, Soren Kierkegaard, beautifully and simply puts it:
• “Sin is building your identity on anything but God.”
• The FRUIT of sin is wrong actions. Inward sins, pride, selfish, lust, anger, greed etc.
• Or outward sins, dishonesty, impurity, drunkenness etc.
Note:
• There are 67 different sins mentioned by name in the New Testament.
• The point being that sin is a problem in the Bible!
• And it is the biggest problem all of us as human beings face.
Now from those two-dozen or so words for sin in the Bible, we are going to focus in on one of them.
• The word translated in English as ‘sin’ in this chapter,
• Is very much like its Greek counterpart in the New Testament.
• (Hebrew ‘chattath’ Greek ‘hamartano.’)
• The word for ‘sin’ simply means, ‘to miss the mark’ or ‘to wander from the path.’
• Both are familiar ideas to us.
• e.g., To, ‘miss the mark.’
• Think of an archer aiming at the bullseye on a target.
• He may miss by 5 inches or by 5 feet but either way he has missed the target!
• Or think of a train leaving the station, if you miss it by a minute or an hour,
• Tough, the train has departed, and you are left behind!
• e.g., To, ‘wander from the path.’
• Every car driver here has or will at some time miss their turning,
• Our intentions might have been good, but our actions have failed us.
• This reflects a common problem sin:
• We have good intentions, we aim for virtue, high moral standards.
• But so often we still fail to reach it.
• The apostle Paul put it this way (Romans chapter 7 verse 15),
“For I do not understand my own actions.
For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
The problem with sin is we all battle with it!
• We all have areas of weakness in our lives where sin often seems to win,
• And even if we are doing well, we can also sin by when we don't take action we should.
• What theologians call, ‘sins of commission and sins of omission.’
Ill:
• As a child I loved the Tarzan films,
• And the greatest actor to play Tarzan had to be Johnny Weissmuller .
• Who portrayed Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan in twelve feature films from 1932 to 1948.
• I am going to show you a clip from one of the films,
• But be warned it does not have a happy ending!
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/XakJsIbOyEE
• (Tarzan and the amazons. 1945. Quicksand scene)
• TRANSITION: Sin is very much like being stuck in quicksand or a swamp,
• The more we struggle to overcome it, the greater hold it seems to have on us.
• The good news of the gospel is,
• There is forgiveness in Jesus Christy from our past sins.
• And God gives us the Holy Spirit to help strengthen us,
• So that we can have victory over sin in our lives in the present.
(2). What do we mean by the word, ‘purification’?
Ill:
• I went on a local Church website this week,
• I wanted to find out the time of their mid-week meeting.
• I was surprised that one of the first things they say on their website is,
• “We are totally informal. There is no dress code”
• Made me wonder if anyone had turned up in a tuxedo,
• Or if someone did not attend in case, they were turned away for not wearing a tie.
• In certain restaurants, workplaces or clubs,
• You may need to conform to a dress code is a set of standards to enter.
• TRANSITION: In the Old Testament the dress code was not physical but spiritual.
• God examined a person’s heart and body not their apparel.
• To approach God and enjoy his presence worshippers had to have the right ‘dress code.’
• For the priests that did mean ceremonial clothes,
• And for priests and worshippers it also meant they had to be ceremonially pure.
• That is free of some flaw or uncleanness,
• Which would bar one from contact with holy objects or places,
• Abd bar them from contact with the holy presence of God in worship.
Note:
• People could be ceremonially unclean not because they sinned,
• But for other reasons.
• And this applied not just to people but also to some inanimate objects,
• Now these people (and objects) were not unacceptable because they had done evil,
• But because they were imperfect,
• But because they “fell short” of the holy perfection that God’s presence required.
• e.g., a woman after giving childbirth had to offer a sin offering,
• (Leviticus chapter 12 verses 6-8).
• Now obviously she has not sinned because she has given birth.
• But she is considered to be ceremonially impure.
• But has not committed a moral fault.
• The reason is debatable but it one scholar suggests,
• After giving birth a woman’s creative process is diminished.
• In other words, she is unable to conceive again straight away.
• So, for a period of time she is unable to fulfil God’s command,
• To “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis chapter 1 verse 28).
• She is impure until she is once again in sync with God,
• With respect to her power to create life.
Ill:
• Mary the mother of Jesus followed this purification ceremony,
• 40 days after the birth of Jesus, her firstborn son.
• Luke chapter 2 verse 23 as commanded in Exodus chapter 13 verses 2&12.
• Luke chapter 2 verse 24 as commanded in Leviticus chapter 12 verse 8.
“When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”, and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.””
• TRANSITION: Purification is connected with being ceremonially impure,
• And not because the person has committed a moral fault.
(3). What do we mean by the word, ‘atonement’?
Ill:
• Most people have never heard of James Harrison.
• When he was thirteen years old, he needed surgery,
• During that surgery he needed 13 litres of blood (almost 23pints in old money!)
• Once he turned eighteen, he pledged to donate blood on a regular basis.
• It was discovered that his blood contained a rare antigen that cured Rhesus disease.
• He made over 1000 donations throughout his lifetime,
• And saved over 2.4million unborn babies from the condition.
• TRANSITION: The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ’s blood is perfect,
• Therefore, his sacrifice on the cross, his shed blood was a perfect sacrifice.
• There isn’t anything that a person can add to it.
• It is spotless, impeccable, flawless!
• That is why Christians say, we can be at-one with God through Christ’s sacrifice.
• He has made atonement (at-one-ment).
• His blood was perfect as God is perfect.
Quote C.H. Spurgeon the great Baptist preacher who said,
“Human nature’s way of salvation is, “Do, do, do.”
But God’s way of salvation is, “Done, done, it is all done.”
• When a person realises, they cannot earn salvation,
• They cannot be at-one with God through their own efforts,
• But instead rely on the finished work of Christ on the cross.
• We can be saved, and at-one, reconciled to God.
Note: this chapter is all about atonement.
• Atonement for when the priest sins (chapter 4 verses 3-12),
• Atonement when the whole congregation sins (chapter 4 verses 13-21),
• Atonement when a leader sins (chapter 4 verses 22-26),
• And atonement when a common Israelite sins (chapter 4 verses 27-35).
(4). What did this offer mean to the Hebrew people?
• For the people who first got this book called Leviticus,
• It was important, for them it was a compulsory offering after…
• Childbirth, or bodily discharges or after a skin condition,
• But in these verses the emphasis is on unintentional sins.
• Most of us have enough trouble getting ‘a handle’ on intentional sins,
• But this offering is a reminder of the holiness of God,
• And that sin is sin whether deliberate or unintentional.
Sin is unintentional when we are unaware of the rules.
Ill:
• We have an expression, ‘Ignorance of the law is no excuse.’
• (‘Ignorantia juris non excusat.’ - Latin for "ignorance of the law excuses not.")
• Which means that a person who is unaware of a law,
• May not escape liability for violating that law merely by being unaware of its content.
• Too many speeding car drivers say to the policeman who stopped them,
• “I thought it was 40mph, I didn’t realise it was a 30mph zone.”
• Well ignorance is no excuse,
• And you can expect that policeman to issue a ticket and a fine.
• TRANSITION: A holy God says to us that sin is sin,
• And ignorance of his laws is leave us with no excuse,
So, chapter spells out the implications for different groups of people:
• FIRST: The priests (vs 3-12).
• They need to be first because if they are not right with God,
• They cannot help other people get right with God.
• They have to offer a very expensive offering (vs 3),
• “A young bull without defect.”
• The offering is more costly than the other people are required to make,
• Because the priests are to be closer to God,
• Therefore, they bear a greater responsibility than others for sin.
• They of all people should know better!
• Unlike with other offerings the priests are not allowed to profit from this one,
• What isn’t burned in the sacrifice,
• Was to be taken outside the camp for disposal (vs 11-12),
• SECOND: The nation as a whole (vs 13-21).
• We know that at times the whole nation slipped away from God.
• e.g., Joshua and the Gibeobnite deception (Joshua chapter 9).
• THIRD: The leaders of the community (vs 22-26).
• In these verses they come for themselves and not as representatives for the nation.
• FOURTH: The ordinary people (vs 27-35).
• The ordinary people are allowed to sacrifice a cheaper animal.
• But the animal had to be without defect.
The animal to be offered in sacrifice depended on the status of the sinner.
• e.g., A high priest would offer a young bull.
• e.g., A king or a prince would offer a young male goat.
• e.g., The rest of the people in the would sacrifice a young female goat or lamb,
• Unless they were too poor,
• In which case they were only required to offer two turtledoves or pigeons.
• Full details of the sin offering, and the requirements associated with it,
• Are listed in Leviticus chapter 4 and Numbers chapter 15.
(5). What does this offer mean to me?
• The sin offering was a heart-breaking picture of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,
• When he died for the sins of the world.
(a).
• He was a “lamb without blemish”
• (1 Peter chapter 1 verse 19; Leviticus chapter 4 verse 32)
• Whose precious blood was spilled after being publicly killed.
(b).
• Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem,
• Just as the sin offering was to be burnt outside the camp.
• (Hebrews chapter 13 verse 12; Leviticus chapter 4 verse 12).
(c).
• It must have been painful for people under the Mosaic Law,
• To slaughter an innocent animal,
• When they knew they were the ones who had done wrong.
• In the same way,
• It should be painful for us to admit our guilt,
• And to know that the innocent and holy Son of God took the punishment for our sin.
• Just as the sacrificial lamb makes atonement for unintentional sins,
• Jesus’ blood made atonement for the sin of any person,
• Who realizes their guilt before God and asks for that atonement to be applied to them?
• Quote: John chapter 3 verse 16.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=qMhmJGRAM7WsUSBRd2SgIkYZ7iggp2wq
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/je_YY5zJPi4
