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).