Category: Salvation

Why is the Virgin Birth So Important?

11/18/2017

As Christians, we celebrate the virgin birth of Christ at Christmas. Have you ever stopped to think how important that really is? It’s important from both a human prophecy point of view as well as from a spiritual salvation point of view. As we saw in the previous post, the coming Messiah was supposed to be a descendant of Adam (Gn 3:15), Abraham (Gn 17:19), Isaac (Nu 24:17), Jacob (Gn 49:10), Judah (Is 11:10), and David (Jr 23:5-6). And we see this from the genealogy provided in Matthew Chapter 1. Yet, we also see something else. Something unexpected. Scripture also states that the coming Messiah was not only to be a descendant of David, but be an heir to David’s throne (Is 9:7).

Now here is where the conundrum occurs. Joseph was indeed a descendant of David and of Solomon through whom the throne passed (Mt 1:6). Yet, a descendent of Solomon, and part of the royal lineage, was Jeconiah (Mt 1:11) about whom God made a special, earth-shattering, announcement through the prophet Jeremiah (Jr 22:24-30). He stated that none of his descendants would sit on the throne of David in Judah. Did you catch that? No descendant of Jeconiah would sit on the throne. But wait, the promised Messiah was to sit on David’s throne in Jerusalem which is in Judah. How can this be resolved?

Joseph was of the lineage of Jeconiah and, therefore, of the royal lineage, but this would all fall apart unless Jesus was not his son. If Jesus was the biological son of Joseph, his reign would fall under this curse. So, how could he be a descendant of David, have a legitimate right to the throne, and not be a descendant of Jeconiah? It seems God had it all figured out. Mary, Joseph’s betrothed, was also a descendant of David through another son, Nathan (Lk 3:31). Since Mary was Christ’s biological mother, this made him a descendant of King David. Joseph was an heir to the throne of David. He claimed Jesus as his own child (Mt 1: 24; Lk 2:5), although he was actually born of the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:18). Since Joseph claimed Jesus as his own son, even though he wasn’t, this made him a legitimate son of Joseph and an heir to the throne without being a descendant of Jeconiah.

This narrowed the field considerably of who could really be the Messiah. Not only did he have to fulfil all the prophecies we mentioned in the previous post, but he had to fulfill this convoluted prophecy. Only by his virgin birth could such a prophecy be fulfilled. It was the only way for all the prophecy to be fulfilled exactly as stated. And, of course, the spiritual side of this is enormous. Who else could fulfill the need for one to pay the price for mankind’s sins except one who could identify with being human while being God. Blood was needed to pay for the justice God demanded, and only the blood of Christ was holy enough (both in purity and uniqueness) to pay that for everyone.

Now the hard work has been done. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t free for the one who secured the payment. Yet, it is free for us if we only ask, believe, and accept this one, this perfect one, this unique one, as the hope for our eternal future. The Christmas season is upon us. Will you make this a special one for you as well?

Related Posts:
Prophecy of Christ’s First Coming
When is Christmas?
Biblical Paradox: Salvation

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Sin Offering Applications

6/10/2017

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The sin offering brings up an important question: what is sin? I think God defined it for the Israelites: “If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them…” (Lv 4:1; emphasis mine). And, since God does not change (Ml 3:6), it is still God’s definition. While this definition may not sit well with us today, it is the definition God himself put on it. Sin is anything God has commanded not to be done. It doesn’t matter if we can rationalize it. God’s definition still stands. Also, we see that sin may be either ignorant or willful; active or passive. This means we can sin even when we don’t intend to. Ignorance was not punished, but revelation of one’s ignorance required action.

Why was this so important to God? Sin results in defilement. God stated there were sins which Israel committed which were said to defile the people, the land, and even the dwelling place of God: sexual immorality (Lv 18:24-30); bloodshed (Nu 35:29-34); occult practices (Lv 19:31; 20:6); infant sacrifice (Lv 20:1-5); divorce (Jr 3:1); false worship (Jr 16:18). These are things we still commit today. We may have tweaked them and made them more sophisticated, but we still commit them. God still sees them as sin.

Sin is exceedingly costly. The people had to sacrifice their livelihood and be dependent upon God for their survival. Bob Deffinbaugh, Community Bible Chapel, Richardson, TX, made the following statement: “When you think of what it would cost an Israelite who wished to maintain his walk with God, it would have been a religion almost too costly to be able to afford. No wonder God promised to prosper this people greatly!” If this practice of worship was still in existence today, would people even dare obey it?

The only solution for the guilt of sin was blood atonement. Sin led to guilt which led to blood sacrifice. By offering fat and sprinkling blood and then destroying the rest, God made it clear it was the blood that made atonement. The death of Christ, who died once and for all, has made atonement for man’s sin, and assures forgiveness.

Ignorance is not bliss. Bob Deffinbaugh also stated the following, “The Israelites were held accountable for the sins they committed ignorantly. Many contemporary Christians seem to think that if they don’t study their Bibles, if they don’t familiarize themselves with the standards and principles God has given in the Bible, they will not be responsible for their sins committed in ignorance. Not so! The Sin Offering strongly suggests that we had better become careful students of the revealed Word of God, for it is disobedience to His word that constitutes sin.” And as was already stated, we don’t define sin, God does.

So, what’s the answer? What is our hope? Christ is our answer. “But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hb 9:11-14).

In addition, Peter tells us the following: “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed form the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with this previous blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified them, and so your faith and hope are in God” (1Pt 1:13-21).

Although God hates sin, he loves us. That is why he paved the way for us. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. We just have to accept. Will you? Take that leap of faith. Your only regret will only be why you didn’t do it even earlier.

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Sin Offering
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Sin Offering

6/3/2017

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I guess it’s pretty self-explanatory what a sin offering was for. Yet, since everyone sins, everyone’s sin had to be atoned for—including the priests. This offering was made when one sinned unintentionally, and it was made for a specific sin.

When priests unintentionally sinned, it brought guilt to all the people. When such occurred, the priest was to bring a young bull without blemish (Lv 4:3-12). A bull was one of the more expensive and precious livestock. The priest would lay his hands on the animal for atonement and then slaughter it. The blood of the bull was sprinkled before the veil in the Holy Place of the tabernacle. Blood was then placed on the horns of the Altar of Incense, and the remainder of the blood was poured at the base of the Brazen Altar outside the tabernacle. The fat of the animal was then offered on the Brazen Altar. The remainder of the animal was taken outside the camp to the ash heap and burned to ashes on a wood fire. This was symbolic of how sins were dealt with by God. The sin was symbolically transferred to a valuable animal whose blood atoned for their relationship to God, for their prayers to God, and then offered to God. Once the animal was completely consumed, nothing of the sin was left remaining.

When the congregation sinned unintentionally, they, too, were to bring a young bull without blemish (Lv 4:13-21). The elders (one from each of the twelve clans or tribes) would lay their hands on the head of the animal for atonement and then slaughter it. Again, this shows how they were intimately involved with the sacrifice. The blood of the bull was sprinkled before the veil in the Holy Place of the tabernacle and placed on the horns of the Altar of Incense. The remainder of the blood was poured at the base of the Brazen Altar, the fat offered, and the remainder of the animal taken outside the camp to the ash heap and burned to ashes on a wood fire.

When a leader of the people sinned unintentionally, he would bring a male goat without defect (Lv 4:22-26). He would lay his hands on the head of animal for atonement and then slaughter it himself. The priest would then place the blood on the horns of the Brazen Altar while the remainder of the blood was poured at its base. The fat of the animal was offered. Both the priest and his male family members could eat the remainder within the courtyard of the tabernacle.

When a member of the community sinned unintentionally, they would bring either a female goat or female lamb without defect (Lv 4:27-35). They would lay their hands on the head of animal for atonement and then slaughter it themselves. The priest would place blood on the horns of the Brazen Altar, the remainder of the blood poured at its base, and the fat offered on the Brazen Altar. The priest and his male family members could eat the remainder within the courtyard of the tabernacle.

So, what happened with the sin was not unintentional? The sin not forgiven (Lv 5:1). Also, if someone did not speak up about what they knew about someone accused, they would be held responsible and a sin offering would not be accepted. A defiant sin was not forgiven and they would lose their inheritance (Nu 15:27-31).

There were several sins mentioned that would be forgiven (Lv 5:2-4): realizing one unknowingly touched something unclean, or someone thoughtlessly took an oath. They had to confess their specific sin (Lv 5:5). Once the sin was recognized, specific requirements were dictated (Lv 5:6-13). The offender was to bring either a female lamb or goat, or, if they were poor, they were to bring two doves or two pigeons: one for a sin offering; the other for a burnt offering. The sin offering was made first (the head of the bird was wrung from its neck, blood splattered against the side of the Brazen Altar; the remainder drained at the base of the Brazen Altar). The other bird was offered as a burnt offering as previously described. If they could afford neither of these types of offerings, they were to bring one-tenth ephah (3½ lbs) of the finest flour (this required extreme effort on their part to make flour this fine). It could not contain olive oil or incense. The memorial part was offered on the altar; the rest of the offering belonged to the priest.

Some interesting facts were then provided about this type of offering (Lv 6:24-30). Whatever touched the flesh of the sacrifice became holy. Blood on any garment had to be washed in the sanctuary area. A clay pot cooking the meat had to be destroyed. A bronze pot cooking the meat had to be scoured and rinsed with water. As previously noted, only the flesh from the sin offering which did not require blood to be sprinkled in the Holy Place could be eaten by the priest; otherwise, the rest of the sacrifice had to be taken outside the camp and burned to ashes.

In summary, the sin offering was to be made for a specific sin and had to be made as soon as possible once the sin was identified. This type of offering was made only for sins which were unintentional. The offering made for sin which caused the congregation to sin was treated differently from the offering made for one’s individual sin, and the one making the offering received none of the sacrifice for consumption.
That brings us to the real question: what was the purpose of all of this? Stay tuned for the next post which will address this question and then explore what it means for us today.

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Biblical Paradox: Salvation

1/15/2013

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Why would I say that salvation is a paradox? Well, God states that salvation is something that He provided for us and there is nothing we can do ourselves to earn it. Therefore, if we work toward our salvation we cannot attain it but if we don’t work for it we attain it. See, doesn’t that sound like a paradox? However, there is a logical answer to this mysterious statement.

Adam’s act of disobedience – actually, rebellion (read chapter 4 of my book) – forever separated mankind from God. This is a chasm that mankind cannot bridge. Our best is still counted as equivalent to a filthy rag to God (Is 64:6). Therefore, we were forever destined to be separated from God. However, God loved us so much that He decided to bridge this gap for us. Therefore, the second person of the Godhead, who became Jesus Christ, became known as the Son of God, came and died on the cross for the payment of all of mankind’s sin: past, present, and future. Therefore, all of the work needed to restore ourselves to God was done by God. This neither means that our salvation is cheap nor is it automatic. Jesus Christ paid a huge price. Although He was God, he came in human flesh and sacrificed his life for us. This was a payment that God required for sin. The past sacrifices that had been done had to be done on a repeated basis. These sacrifices were instituted to show that mankind cannot get to God on works alone and pointed toward the one Messiah that was to come to be the ultimate sacrifice that would pay the universal debt that these animal sacrifices could not. Also, God is spirit and, therefore, each personality of the Godhead was spirit. By Jesus Christ coming in human form, he forever remained human so he will always identify with us – in human form when he was present on earth and in glorified form in our eternal future. Therefore, Jesus Christ paid the necessary price to restore our relationship with God; however, each individual must accept that offering. It is not granted automatically. God is not going to force this gift on us if we are not willing to accept it. However, although the price was great, it’s acceptance is available to all just by the act of acceptance with humility.

Faith is the element that is need for our salvation’s acceptance. In order to accept what has been done for us, we have to accept, by faith, that this is our only way for being accepted by God: not on our own merit but on the merit of Jesus Christ alone. There is no work, no act, no moral goodness that we can rely on for God’s acceptance of us. It has to be on Jesus Christ alone. There is no other name on which we can be saved.

Connected to this, and tied to this paradox, is the virgin birth of Christ. Without his virgin birth, there is no way that Christ’s act of salvation could be possible for us. There is no human that can pay for the sin of even one person much less that of all of mankind. Without His virgin birth, there would be no salvation. Therefore, belief in Christ’s virgin birth is essential to our salvation. Therefore, just as faith is needed to trust in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection for our right standing with God, faith is also needed to believe in Christ’s virgin birth. Both are essential. The latter cannot be achieved without the former being true.

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Fall Jewish Holidays - Part 4: Salvation & Faith

10/7/2012

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Let's first address the somewhat provocative statement I made at the end of my post last time. How do these Jewish feasts relate to salvation? The answer is 'faith.' Just as our salvation relies on our faith in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, so it was for the Israelites. How it that? Well, we look back on what Christ did for us whereas the Israelites looked forward to what their coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, would do for them.

Let's see how the logic went for them, and see if this is the same logic for us today. To be in a right relationship with God, each individual Israelite knew that they had no real merit on their own to stand before a holy God. After all, these Israelites who were alive when God first presented these feasts to them, saw God on Mt. Sinai. They saw the smoke and fire and felt the violent earthquake of the mountain that tried to accommodate God's presence - and they were terrified (Ex 19:16). No one present that day had the slightest inkling that they were able to stand before this holy God. So, here comes the seventh month in which is the Day of Atonement. Will God accept them? By what means could they be sinless before him? They had no chance. But wait, before the Day of Atonement was the Feast of Trumpets! Yes, that is there only hope: they would ask God to remember his covenant with them and to keep his promise of love and protection. If God remembered his covenant before he proclaims his judgment, then they stood a chance. Then at the Day of Atonement, a blood sacrifice was made on their behalf and was accepted by God. They were then at peace with God for another year. They could then truly celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles because God had accepted them. Although the Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement were solemn occasions, the Feast of Tabernacles was truly a joyous occasion. They had been accept by God! They had good reason to celebrate. As we saw earlier, they looked forward to the one that would come to be the ultimate sacrifice for their sin - the one to whom the blood of atonement pointed. This they accepted by faith. It was their faith, not the actual ritual, which saved them. The ritual pointed to the one to come and their part in the ritual pointed to the sincerity of their heart. That is what God was looking for in each and every individual.

Does that not sound similar to what we experience today? We have to realize that we cannot stand before God in our present condition. We have no hope in our present state and cannot earn God's favor no matter how good we think we are or try to be. It is just not possible. Why? Because God is perfection and anything that does not meet this minimum standard is unacceptable. Well that is a high bar isn't it? Yes, it is very high because God is the ultimate and expects no less. So what is our only hope? Our only hope is to put our faith in God's new covenant which Jesus Christ has established through his death on the cross for us. By faith, we accept the price Jesus Christ paid on the cross for our sins, and trust in that, and that alone, for our salvation. That is the only price God can accept, and does accept, to allow anyone into his presence. Again, it our faith, and not any ritual, that saves us. That is what God is still looking for in each and every individual.

Doesn't that point to a God who is consistent and does not change (Ml 3:6)? Many think the Old and New Testaments are not that connected but they are so connected and flow quite well together. Would we expect any less from a God who does not change? Salvation has always been and will always be consistent: faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I will save the next piece for next time. We saw that the Feast of Tabernacles was a very joyous feast and why. That is very consistent with the prophetic nature of this feast - the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Who could deny that it will be a most joyous time? However, there is something that comes after the Millennium and there is a connection to what God originally instituted with the Israelites. It is this that we will discover at our next time together. Until then, God bless!

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Biblical Paradox: Salvation
Gentiles – World View

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Why is the Virgin Birth So Important?

Sin Offering Applications

Sin Offering

Biblical Paradox: Salvation

Fall Jewish Holidays - Part 4: Salvation & Faith

Author:
Randy Dockens

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Categories

Why is the Virgin Birth So Important?

Sin Offering Applications

Sin Offering

Biblical Paradox: Salvation

Fall Jewish Holidays - Part 4: Salvation & Faith

Author:Randy Dockens

Archives

Categories

Author:
Randy Dockens