Dealing With Sin Is Like Getting a New Skin!

Passage:  Leviticus 1

Main Point:  The prescription for the burnt offering sacrifices is given as a picture of the essential elements of trusting Christ for the payment of our sins.

• Promise?
• Lesson  There are several key points of the burnt offering sacrifice that parallels the sacrifice of Christ as our means of forgiveness of sin.  The key difference is that bulls, goats, sheep, and turtledoves are temporary, while the blood of Christ is eternal.  No more is needed.
• The offering must be male without blemish (v. 3).  Christ: male without sin.
• He shall offer it of his own free will (v. 3).  Christ offered himself of His own free will; God sent Him of His own free will; and we accept Him as our only offering of our own free will.
• The offering is made at the door of the tabernacle of meeting - before the Lord (v. 3).  Christ is offered in our hearts - the new tabernacle of meeting and the dwelling-place of the LORD.  Truly, the heart is where the transaction between our spirits and the Lord's takes place. 
• He shall put his hand upon the head of the offering… to make atonement for him (v. 4).  When we are baptized, we identify with Christ, our sacrifice.  Likewise, when we name our sins, we identify them with us.  Putting the hand on the head was the way of identifying the sacrifice with the sinner.   Let us never forget that our sins are placed on Jesus - and we put them there! 
• The bull must be killed before the LORD (v. 5).  Jesus was killed on top of a hill called "Calvary" - before the LORD.  He said from the cross, "Father, why have You forsaken me?" and "It is finished" and then He died. 
• The priests and Aarons sons must bring the blood and sprinkle it all around the altar (v. 5).  Jesus' blood was spilt when the soldiers pierced his side and it went all around the food of the cross.  The priests delighted in this, thinking their rebellion to be squashed.  The Father in Heaven  delighted in this, knowing that the sins of mankind have been atoned.  Satan delighted in this, thinking he had destroyed the hope of mankind.  Humanity delights in this when they see the truth: Satan is destroyed, sin is destroyed, and hope is more alive than ever!
• The bull is skinned, cut into pieces, and laid on the altar where a fire is burning - a sweet aroma to the LORD (v. 6-9).  I'm sure the aroma was sweet - it was the smell of a huge cook-out.  It was to be consumed by the priests.  Christ, likewise, went to the depths of the grave for the sake of sinners - as forsaken by God as possible.  Yet, when we take Him into our lives, we consume the fullness of Christ and are strengthened by Him.  This burning preceded consumption, as the burial of Christ must precede our consuming Him spiritually.  He must endure the grave - though He was not consumed by it.  Rather He is Risen, and we invite Him to live in our lives - every part - as surely as the cooked beef would nourish every cell in a priest's body equally.

• Blessing - The blessing is always that, through Christ, our sins are eternally forgiven: past sins, present sins, and future sins.  Christ never needs to be sacrificed again.  All the sins of the world have been atoned.  The blood of Christ is without blemish - spiritually and physically speaking - meaning that we have a sure Hope of peace with God, no sins to separate us. 
• Command?
• Sin?
• Revelation about God  What kind of love is it that would lead God to send His only Son to suffer this cruel crucifixion for a people that hated Him?  It is the kind of love that continues to lead people to that world-changing moment when they see Christ's work as their only hope - and find it more than satisfies, it literally changes their lives!
• Thoughts about the devil The devil, however, continues to try to blind people to this wonderful truth.

Devotional:

Do you need a new skin? 

Sin is a tough thing.  It's kind of like our skin - there's no getting rid of it - unless we can get a different skin!  If sin WAS skin, there are those who try to was the sin off their skin fruitlessly, scrubbing and scrubbing, using oils, lotions, or what have you.  Still others simply try to change its appearance by medicating or tanning, whatever it take to make that sin-skin look good.  Isn't that like trying to rename sin to something less offensive?  The skin is still there, and it's not going anywhere unless you get a new skin.  That cannot happen until you are made a new creature.

God said, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin" (Heb 9:22).  It has not ever changed - blood still needs to be shed for the remission of sin.  Our efforts to redefine sin, cover it up, or deny it are all fruitless when we meet the LORD.  Sin affects us even here on earth when it is not removed - we pay for it with broken lives, hearts, and dreams.  God's answer has always been the blood of His Son, Jesus.  God sent His only Son, Jesus to pay for our sins.  God foretold this in Leviticus 1 through the elements of the sacrifice of bulls, sheep, goats, and doves.  The imagery is amazing and the parallels unmistakable.  The good news is that God has provided the perfect sacrifice.  We simply must believe it enough to accept it for ourselves, and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will last forever! 

A "No Sin New Skin" IS possible with God and Jesus Christ!