LAW, GOSPEL and ANIMAL SACRIFICE

 

          In the previous message I pointed out how that Law and Gospel both play a part in bringing souls to salvation. The Law shows men their sin and need of forgiveness, the Gospel assures them of forgiveness in Christ. However, there are many people, even among those raised in the church, who do not think that they are sinners. In some cases that blindness is rooted in the fact that they rationalize sin. In other cases it stems from a mistaken belief that the Law has changed, and is now easy to keep. However, that is not what the Bible teaches. The words, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one letter of the law to fail,” (Lu 16:17) tell us that the Law has not changed. On the contrary, what it condemned in the past it still condemns. Right and wrong have not changed! Christ did not change the Law, He freed us from it! As it is written, “we have been released from the law, having died to that which once bound us; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter,” (Romans 7:6). Anyone who is trying to become righteous through keeping the Law, “is a debtor obligated to do everything the law requires” (Galatians 5:3).

          This brings up the question of animal sacrifice. Christ abolished animal sacrifice, by offering, “one sacrifice for sins for ever,” (Hebrews 10:12). In order to understand the relationship of sacrifice to the law, it is important to realize that the “Law” given by Moses consisted of two parts. The first part (the commandments and punishments) exposed and condemned sin. The second part (the sacrifices) required those under the Law to confess their sin before God and seek His mercy. It was mercy that God wanted, not sacrifice (Ho 6:6, Mt 9:13). The actual sacrifices were intended to point forward to Christ’s sacrifice, and are abolished. But, right and wrong have not changed, and those who are saved today are those who, like David, trust in God’s mercy (Psalm 13:5, Titus 3:5).