Series: Leviticus
Title: A Sacrifice for All
Text: Leviticus 1: 3, 10, 14
Date: August 24, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
The
burnt offerings typified our Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s own Son is the sacrifice God provided to save his people from our
sins. In these sacrifices, we see what
God says about all kinds of sinners—from the richest to the poorest. Our
subject is: A Sacrifice for All
Leviticus 1: 3: If his offering be a burnt
sacrifice of the herd,…10: And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the
sheep, or of the goats,…14: And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the
LORD be of fowls,
NO RESPECTOR OF PERSONS
First,
we see that God is no respecter of persons. In the first nine verses, the Lord
God gave his command concerning the sacrifice of bullocks for a burnt offering.
The bullock was the large, strong cattle.
Bullocks were owned by the wealthy. The princes and nobles offered
bullocks. Then we read, in verse 10, “And if his offering be of the flocks,
namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice.” These sacrifices
were the sacrifices for those who were poorer—the middle class. Then we find in
verse 14, “And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls,
then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.” This was
the offering God provided for the poorest of the poor. Here we are shown the
poverty into which our Savior was born.
This was the offering that Joseph and Mary brought for a burnt offering
when they came with our Savior to present him to the Lord. Even in the law, God
declares that he is no respecter of persons. The upper class, middle class, and
the poor, all were declared sinners because God would receive none except
through the blood of a sacrifice.
One
awful characteristic of depraved sinners is to show respect based on outward
appearance, outward distinctions, glorying in appearance. Sinners show respect
based on gender, race, social status, and anything else. God hates it. We are all equally, wretched, bankrupt
sinners before God. No sinner is worthy of being exalted over another. To do so
is to be guilty of the whole law of God.
James 2: 1: My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2: For if
there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and
there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3: And ye have respect to him
that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place;
and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4: Are
ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5: Hearken,
my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith,
and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6: But
ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the
judgment seats? 7: Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are
called? 8: If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9: But if ye have respect to
persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10: For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
guilty of all. 11: For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not
kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a
transgressor of the law. 12: So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be
judged by the law of liberty. 13: For he shall have judgment without mercy,
that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
God
has not chosen many rich or wise, but most of God’s people are poor, who God
has made rich in faith. As you read about the sacrifices, you usually find far
more offerings from the flocks and fowls than you do from the herds of
bullocks.
1
Corinthians 1: 26 For ye see your
calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which
are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring
to nought things that are: 29 That no
flesh should glory in his presence.
In
Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, learned nor
unlearned, rich nor poor; but Christ is all and in all.
Colossians 3:11: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew,
circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but
Christ is all, and in all.
ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE
Secondly,
in this, we see the good news that God has provided one sacrifice, the Lord
Jesus, who will save all kinds of people—richest to the poorest. God will not save all men without
exception. Christ said,
John 10:15: As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the
Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 17:9: I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Matthew 1:21: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
But God
will save all kinds of sinners—kings and paupers, rich and poor, educated and
uneducated. That is what we are told in
1 Timothy 2. Many use this text to say
that it shows that God wants all men to be saved. But that is not so. Whatever God wills, God accomplishes.
Ephesians 1: 11: In whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will:
Isa 46:10
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my
pleasure: 11: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my
counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to
pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
So 1
Timothy 2 does not declare that God wants to save all men, but that God will save
all kinds of men, from kings and those in authority to us who are poor who have
no authority and all kinds in between.
1 Timoth 2: 1: I exhort therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all
men;
This
means for all kinds of men.
1 Timothy 2: 2: For kings, and for all that are in
authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty.
Here you have kings and those in authority and you
have “we”, Paul and Timothy, men who were in not positions of authority to the
world, including the poor saints.
1 Timothy 2: 3: For this is good and acceptable in the
sight of God our Saviour; 4: Who will have all men to be saved, and to come
unto the knowledge of the truth.
God
will have all kinds of men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Among those God has elected unto salvation in
Christ there are some who are wise and noble and a great many who are unwise,
poor, nobodies from nowhere. But from the riches to the poorest, we are all
sinners, so we can only be saved by God’s grace through Christ Jesus the
Mediator, who gave himself a ransom for all kinds of sinners.
1 Timothy 2: 5: For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6: Who gave himself a ransom for
all, to be testified in due time.
That is
the lesson in our text. God provided a sacrifice for the upper, middle and
lower classes of men. But it is in one
sacrifice of blood that all shall be saved. Christ is that Sacrifice. Our great Sacrifice welcomes all kinds of
sinners when he says, “Him that cometh unto me” (John 6:37).
Hebrews 7:25: Wherefore he is able also to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them.
A LESSON FOR TRUE SINNERS
Notice,
verses 3-5, “he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. And he shall put his hand upon
the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make
atonement for him. And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the
priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round
about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” Then again in verses 10-11, “And if his
offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt
sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. And he shall kill it on
the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons,
shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.” Then again in verses 14-15, “And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering
to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of
young pigeons. And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his
head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the
side of the altar.”
No
matter who the sinner was the worshipper was actively involved in the
sacrifice, picturing the believer’s faith in Christ and confession of guilt
before God. Sinner, there simply is no
coming to God except, we cease from our works and believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. The sinner, in each case, identified himself with the offering. We must
be brought to see our sin put Christ on the cross—killed him
The
only way in which he could accomplish redemption, is substitution. You must be
brought to confess that Christ died in your room and stead. The Son of God became
the Substitute for God’s elect for the accomplishment of their eternal
redemption.
Romans 3:24: Being justified freely by his grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his
righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus.
God determined that his Son, Christ Jesus, must have the
sins of his people made his own, that he must take the guilt of his people upon
himself and make it his own. And that he must suffer the law’s penalty to the
uttermost to make satisfaction to justice.
So each sinner, whom God saves, must be
brought to identify Christ’s death as our death, Christ life as our life. We
must confess our sins and utter inability and confess faith in Christ as our
only acceptance with God.
THE SACRIFICE NOT THE FORM
Notice,
The same honor was given to the sacrifices of the poor as was given to the
sacrifices of the rich, because the only thing that gave each sacrifice
significance and importance was the One they represented, the Lamb of God. It
is not the ceremony that made atonement, but the sacrifice.
The
lesson is it is not our going through the form of religion that saves us, but
the meek and humble Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ who is our righteousness.
Christ our Substitute. Christ our sovereign God. The act of faith, of
confessing faith, baptism, the observance of the Lord’s Table and worshipping
to the Lord in his house is not what saves us.
Those things are not the object of our faith. Christ is the one who
saves us! We are saved by Christ whom our faith lays hold of; we are saved by
Christ who we confess in believer’s baptism; we are saved by Christ who we
observe in the Lord’s Table; we are saved by Christ who we worship in the
church services. The form does not save
us, Christ the Power of God saves us. Believe on Christ!
Amen!