OSS- Imputation, Substitution, Atonement, Propitiation-Lev 16, Part 2
We are in the study of Our Salvation Story and are examining those things God does for us for our salvation. We started with things God did before we were saved. We discussed difficult topics like foreknowledge, predestination, and election. And the conclusion is God mysteriously calls (or woos us) and according to His divine sovereign choice, and fully accounting for our free will, we come to God consciousness, we become aware of sin and judgement, we see our need for a Savior, and God brings us to a decision point where we repent and He inclines our hearts to believe. We saw these things in the life of Zacchaeus where God called him, regenerated him, and led him to repentance and to make restitution.
We then began a discussion of what God does for us at the moment of salvation. Things we do not necessarily feel or experience, but transactionally occur when we place our faith in Christ. We looked at the example of Abraham and how through faith, God credited to him righteousness and then justified him (or declared him right) because he had righteousness in his account.
Last time we began a study of how God removes sin from us and we went to Lev 16 to see how our Holy God dwelt with his sinful people, and how they could approach him and be cleansed. There are several things we observed.
- First, though the Israelites were sinful and rebellious, God still wanted to be with them.
- We noted that it was God who gave the instructions as to how He was to dwell with his sinful people. He gave Moses plans for a portable tabernacle that would be His dwelling place among them.
It would establish a buffer zone effect between his dwelling place (the H of H) and where the people lived (the camp), because there is tension when a Holy God dwells with an un-holy people; for the sinfulness of the people threatened to pollute and defile God’s dwelling place: and on the other hand, the presence of a Holy God presented a threat to the sinful people.
- God also gave instructions as to how He was to be approached: He established procedures of ritual sacrifices for the priest and the people to follow that would cleanse them of their sin and be a type of what was to come.
- I briefly introduced the theological concepts of Imputation, Substitution, Atonement, and Propitiation, and although I did not explicitly define them, they were illustrated in the instructions and pattern of sacrifice God gave to Moses. I will explain these more fully today.
Now with the rest of our time, I want to explain the NT corollaries to Lev 16 and see how Christ fits the type and pattern of sacrifice Lev 16 set out. And here is where I will violate a rule of public speaking. Usually, one is to give 3-4 points for an audience to walk away with; but today I have 13. But they all flow from one another and they are listed in the handout.
What is my/your problem?
Our problem is sin.
Lev 16:3, This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: he must first bring a young bull for a sin offering. Vs 6, Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. These verses tells us Aaron was a sinner.
Lev 16:21 tells us that Aaron is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites-all their sins-and put them on the goat’s head.
This verse tells us that in addition to Aaron, the rest of the Israelites were also sinners. They were all sinners!!
Sin is not a popular word today. In our secularized society the word is viewed as an anachronism and irrelevant to the mores of modern society. In religious circles the word evokes negative connotations as many churches have shifted their focus from salvation to self-help, self-improvement, and self-realization.
Sin has been re-defined as dysfunction, or an un-healthy behavior. We do not want to make any moral judgement and in our therapeutic age we avoid the word.
But here is the thing. God uses it in his Word because sin is offensive. It is a moral judgement against us. For God’s definition of sin is simple. It is the violation of his commandments. We all have broken God’s commands.
Paul explains all this to the Church in Rome in Romans 1-3, and he gives a summary verse of his arguments in Rm 3:23, For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.
A punishment is given.
When there is a violation of a command a consequence is to follow. God laid this out to Adam and Eve in Gen 2:16-17. God had given them a command, you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. We know the penalty for Adam’s sin was death. Now Adam and Eve had no idea or reference point as to what death was. But they found out in Gen 3 when they violated God’s command and ate of the tree they were forbidden to eat. Death meant a severance of the relationship they had with God. Death meant their physical bodies started to deteriorate, and ultimately would return to dust. Death meant that Eve would seek to control her husband and would have pain in childbirth. Death meant for Adam he would have to labor with all his might to provide and feed himself and his wife. Death meant the beautiful garden in which they were living was corrupted. Death meant they were expelled from the presence of God (see Gen 3:14-24).
Paul summarizes and confirms all this in Rm 5:12, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.
and in Rm 6:23, for the wages of sin is death.
How can my relationship with God be restored?
Bildad asked the same question in Job 25:4, How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?
First, we become conscious of our sin.
To be right with God first requires a consciousness of our sin and sinfulness, and a heart seeking forgiveness.
By sin I mean our individual acts of unrighteousness-our lies, our lust, our foul words, our crooked and evil thoughts etc. and by our sinfulness, I mean our tendency to do these unrighteous deeds.
This is the work of regeneration, which we studied in the case of Zacchaeus. God awakens and kindles our spiritual life and convicts us of sin (Jn 16:8-11).
David gave us his example in Ps 51:4, Against you and you only have I sinned and have done evil in your sight, so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
Ps 51:17, My sacrifice, O God is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart you God will not despise.
Peter picks up this theme in Acts 2:38, where he says true faith comes with repentance. Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
We then seek restoration with God by means of an acceptable sacrifice.
The good news is God designed a way out of our mess. He established a way to get back to him.
In the garden, God slew an innocent animal and covered Adam and Eve with its skin. In this way, God provided a way to forgive them, cover their shame, and communicate with them.
In Lev 1-7, God instructed Moses as to how sacrifices could cleanse sin and enable forgiveness. And in Lev 16, God gave instructions as to how the sins of the nation could be dealt with.
Just as God instructed Aaron to secure a ram and bull for his own sin, and two goats and a ram for the nation’s sin, it was necessary for anyone who sins to provide a sacrifice for forgiveness. In other words, if you wanted to be right with God, you would need to sacrifice an innocent animal. And not just any animal. but an animal that God had commanded to sacrifice and in a way He proscribed.
And so, we come to the NT, where John the Baptist, on seeing the Christ, said Jn 1:29, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
2 Cor 5:21, For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The apostle John also chimed in on this in Rev 5:12, Saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.”
Today our acceptable sacrifice is Christ. We bring Him as our offering for our sin.
The offeror must believe the sacrifice will work.
Moses, Aaron, and the people of Israel had to trust God that what He told them to sacrifice would work to remove their sin. We must do the same with Christ and trust that He can remove our sins.
Acts 16:31, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
Acts 4:12, Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
How does the sacrifice work?
The sacrifice serves as a substitute bearing the sin of the offeror.
Substitution is the theological concept that someone takes our place. In other words, the offeror has conveyed his sin upon the substitute. Aaron placed his hands on the goat and transferred the sins of the people onto it. Similarly, it means Christ took our place and let the wrath of God’s punishment for sin fall on him, rather than us.
1 P 2:24, He himself bore our sins in his body on a cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by his stripes we were healed.
1 P 3:18, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.
The offeror comes and imputes his sin to the sacrifice.
Imputation is an accounting term that means something has been reckoned to your account. Biblically this works three ways:
- The sin of Adam was imputed to his posterity, Rm 5:12, When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned (see also Rms 5:13-14,19).
- The Sins of Man are imputed to Christ, 2 Cor 5:21, For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,[e] so that we could be made right with God through Christ (see also Is 53:5-6, 1 P 2:24).
- The Righteousness of God is imputed to those who believe in Christ, Rm 4:22-25, And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him (see also Gen 15:6, Rm 4:3,6-8, Col 2:13-14).
Why does the sacrifice work?
The sacrifice provides atonement.
Atonement means reparation for a wrong. It is taking action to correct previous wrongdoing. It is doing something right for having done something wrong. In theological terms, because as human beings we cannot make adequate reparation for our sin; it is Christ who comes to our aid, and says, “I can make it right” So he becomes a man—substitutes himself to take on our rightful punishment (which is death) and dies on a cross.
I Jn 2:2, he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Rms 3:25, God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement-through the shedding of his blood-to be received by faith.
The sacrifice provides Propitiation.
Propitiation is the idea that a gift or sacrifice can satisfy one’s need for judgement. If accepted, the gift or sacrifice provides a method of reconciliation to the offended party. Heb 9:11-14, 24-26 tells us Christ entered God’s Temple in heaven and presented his blood as a “once for all” offering for sin. God was satisfied with the punishment Christ endured.
1 Jn 1:1-2, And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
What is the result of Christ’s sacrifice for us?
The sacrifice provides Expiation.
Expiation is the removal of guilt because our sin and its penalty have been removed.
Ps 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Is 1:18, Come now, “let’s settle this” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them white as wool.”
The sacrifice restores our “right” standing with God.
Rm 4:25, He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.
Rms 5:10, for if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life.
The sacrifice allows communication and fellowship with God and each other.
1 Jn 1:7, But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
The sacrifice serves as a means for worship:
1 Tim 1:15-17, This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
