Way to Holiness

“And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” (Leviticus 20:26 NKJV)

Why is always there the bloody death of animals in every offering God instituted through Moses? The answer is there is no other way to go to the Father and God of all creations except through the bloody death. The old sacrifice is the symbol of the death of Jesus Christ. It is the shadow and pattern of real substance. God never means to keep the Law of Moses mechanically and perfunctorily. God wants to teach His people the meaning of the sacrifice through the sacrifice offerings. God does not want to learn what to do but why and how to do. There are reasons for variety of offerings—burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and trespass offering. 

God never desires burnt offerings and sin offerings, Isaiah, King David, and many others say. “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.” (Psalm 51:16 NKJV) “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.” (Isaiah 1:11 NKJV) God says even calls futile sacrifices and abominable incense (Isaiah 1:13).

What God wants to teach His people is that He desires to give them true life—love, joy, and peace. God wants to impart His life with His children. But there is one prerequisite for His people to do—repentance. God wants His people to change the minds according to what God says and sees. King David learned the truth and said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17 NKJV) Prophet Isaiah invites the people to come to God who can cleanse and wash away their sins. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 NKJV)

Through the picture of the sacrifice system, God wants His people to know that He desires to create a new man in Jesus Christ. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 NKJV) The blood in the sacrifice offerings directly indicates the blood of Christ. We can be cleansed only by the blood of Christ, not by the sacrificial performance.

Blood is the symbol of life. Without blood there is no cleansing. Sin demands the human life. The wages of sin is death, the scripture says. The origin of sin is the devil, the fallen angel who deceived the woman. She gave Adam the tree and he ate it. Sin is the root of human problems. Sin must be put to death, the scriptures say. There is no other alternative than the death of sin. So, Jesus Christ died in our place. Christ shed His blood as the atoning sacrifice to redeem the captives.

Burnt offerings, grain offerings, and peace offerings are the voluntary services. There is no obligatory duty to give these offerings unless a man wants to give to God. These offerings are designed for God to pour out His love, joy, and peace. God invites His people to come and drink out of rivers of living water without price. “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not  bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.” (Isaiah 55:1-2 NKJV)

However, Sin offerings and trespass offerings are the obligatory services if a man is found unwittingly in sin or trespass. The one who is found in sin or trespass must present the sin or trespass offerings to God because He violated the Law of God. He is accountable to his deeds before God. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NKJV) Repentance includes restitution.  

The order of the offerings is significant. The first three non-obligatory offerings are listed before the sin offerings and trespass offerings. God wants His people to come unto Him in the prescribed way whenever and wherever. The way of coming to the Father is through the Son Jesus Christ. This is the way to holiness and wholeness. There is no other way than this. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)